The Americans celebrate on Sunday
“We are pleased,” USA coach Alan Knipe said afterward. “It was a must-win for us against a quality opponent, an Olympic opponent. It allows us to go on and gain experience before London.”
USA joins hosts Bulgaria, Cuba, Poland, Germany and Brazil in the World League Finals in Sofia from July 4 to 8.
Earlier Sunday, France did what they had to do to give themselves a chance of reaching the Finals, breezing past Korea 3-0. The win put France on top of Pool C ahead of the USA–Italy match and France needed Italy to win 3-0 or 3-1 to win the group.
In other games on Sunday, Argentina beat Portugal 3-2, while Germany downed Bulgaria by the same score.
