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Wambach coy on international future after World Cup win

By Julie Gordon VANCOUVER (Reuters) - United States striker Abby Wambach was coy on her plans for the future on Sunday, saying just that she was proud of her team's win over Japan after finally hoisting the World Cup trophy for the first time in her 12-year career with the national squad. "There's probably no better way to go out, right? But I'm just really going to enjoy tonight," Wambach, 35, told reporters when asked if she would be announcing her retirement from the squad following her side's thumping 5-2 win. "Yeah, this is going to be one of those fun nights that, come East Coast time morning, I'll be still awake and celebrating with my team mates." The forward, who has scored a record 183 goals in 248 international appearances, said at the outset of the tournament that this would be her last World Cup. A regular on the U.S. national team since 2003, Wambach lost her place in the starting line-up ahead of the quarter-final, calling into question whether she would continue with the national team to the 2016 Rio Olympics. Team mate Alex Morgan said she sat down with the celebrated striker after the game, sharing an emotional moment with the woman she calls "the glue" of the team. "I actually asked her if it was the last time we were going to play together, starting to tear up, and she said 'no, we have a couple more months together, probably.' So that made me smile a little bit," Morgan said. "I love her so much. She's such a great friend of mine." Wambach started the final on bench, coming on in the 79th minute to play out the fading minutes of her last World Cup match. The United States ushered in a new era of dominance with their triumph on Sunday, crushing Japan as captain Carli Lloyd scored a hat-trick inside the opening 16 minutes of the final, with midfielder Lauren Holiday also drilling one home. "The first fifteen or sixteen minutes it seemed surreal, it seemed fake," Wambach added. "I kept asking (team mate) Kelley O'Hara, am I actually dead? I think I've died and this is what my heaven looks like. Seriously, am I alive right now?" In the closing minutes of the game, Lloyd pulled off her captain's armband and wrapped it around Wambach's arm, patting her team mate on the shoulder. After the final whistle, the 2012 FIFA World Player of the Year and two-time Olympic champion sprinted to the stands to embrace her wife, Sarah Huffman, prompting loud cheers from the 53,341 fans gathered in the stadium. "I would never have imagined that the final would go as wildly, dramatically, smoothly as it just did for us," Wambach said. "I'm just proud." (Editing by John O'Brien)