Born in Rochester, New York, Wambach was raised in the Rochester suburb of Pittsford. She is the youngest of seven siblings (with two sisters and four brothers) born to Pete and Judy Wambach. She began playing soccer at the age of four after her sister decided she wanted to try the sport. Their mother checked out a book from the library explaining how to play the game, and from then on soccer became part of their family tradition.

After the WUSA suspended operations in 2003, Wambach trained with the national team in preparation for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. During the U.S.'s first two matches in Athens, she played a direct role in four of the five goals that the team scored resulting in wins over Greece and Brazil. During the team's first group stage match against Greece on August 11, 2004, Wambach scored during the 30th minute to elevate the Americans to a 2-0 lead. She received her first yellow card of the tournament in the 49th minute. Mia Hamm followed with a goal in the 82nd minute for a final score of 3-0.  The U.S. faced Brazil during their second match of the tournament on August 14. Wambach received her second yellow card of the tournament in the 49th minute, giving her an automatic suspension for the final group stage match against Australia. After Hamm scored on a penalty kick in the 58th minute, Wambach sealed the win with a goal in the 77th. After moving on to the quarterfinals after a 1-1 tie against Australia in the final group stage match, the Americans faced Japan on August 20. Wambach's goal in the 59th minute lifted the Americans to a 2-1 victory.  After defeating Germany in overtime during the semi-final, the U.S. faced Brazil for a second time in the Olympic final. Wambach's 10-yard header in the 112th minute off a corner kick from Kristine Lilly gave the U.S. a 2-1 victory and the gold medal win. Her last-minute goal was hailed as one of the five biggest goals in U.S. women's national team history by ESPN in 2011. Wambach finished the tournament with four goals and one assist. Her four goals set a new record for goals scored by a single U.S. player at an Olympic Tournament. The Olympic win also marked the start of significant changes for the national team as it was the final competitive international match for veteran players Mia Hamm, Joy Fawcett and Julie Foudy, who had played with the team since the first Women's World Cup in 1991. On the significance of the win, Wambach said, "It's the least we can do for the women who have meant so much to us."  At the end of 2004, Wambach had scored international 31 goals and 13 assists in 30 matches for the national team. She finished fourth in voting for the FIFA Women's World Player of the Year.  After the Athens Olympics, Wambach continued as a major contributor to the national team, scoring goals during the 2005 Algarve Cup and a number of exhibition games. During group play at the Algarve Cup, one of her goals helped the U.S. squad set a record for the largest goal margin in an Algarve Cup match after their 5-0 win over Denmark. At the end of 2006, Wambach had scored 66 goals in 84 international matches, scoring more goals in fewer games than any player since Michelle Akers. She was one of twenty players nominated for the 2006 FIFA Women's World Player of the Year and finished fourth in voting for the award.

WHAT TEAM DID SHE COMPETE AGAINST DURING THIS TOURNAMENT?
The U.S. faced Brazil during their second match