Chengdu, China (My Sportsbook) - Heather O'Reilly's goal in the 69th minute helped the United States rally to tie North Korea, 2-2, on Tuesday and avoid a stunning upset in its World Cup opener.

Abby Wambach also scored for the United States, which has never lost in the group stage of the World Cup and trailed for the first time in almost a year.

After Wambach gave the United States the lead early in the second half, North Korea got goals from Son Hui Kil and Young Ae Kim to go up 2-1.

North Korea scored both goals with a man advantage while Wambach was in the locker room getting stitches for a deep cut on the back of her head. One of the goals went right through the hands of U.S. goalie Hope Solo.

Shortly after Wambach returned, O'Reilly scored the tying goal and Solo made up for her mistake by making two huge saves in the closing seconds.

"North Korea is by far one of the top five teams in the world and they showed that. They are very organized and very disciplined and very physical," Wambach said. "They were probably more physical than we expected. With the surface and the rain, (the game) is a coin toss in a lot of ways, and you saw that."

The United States, ranked No. 1 in the world, plays its next game on Friday against Sweden. North Korea, ranked fifth, plays Nigeria on Friday. Nigeria and Sweden tied 1-1 in the other game in Group B on Tuesday.

"We got the first game nerves out of the way and under our belt. We just need wins from here on out and I think this team is capable of that," O'Reilly said.

North Korea proved it was going to be a force early in the game, testing Solo with a shot that went just wide of the post in the opening minutes. Solo dove to cover the corner of the goal and likely would have made the stop if it was on target.

North Korea's chances continued throughout the half as it surprisingly found plenty of openings in the United States' defense.

The Americans also had numerous chances of their own in the first half as Kristine Lilly, playing in her fifth World Cup, and Lori Chalupny both put shots wide right in the first 15 minutes.

Wambach nearly put the United States in front in the 40th minute with a header off the crossbar. The ball deflected into the ground just in front of the net and O'Reilly got her foot on the rebound but touched it wide.

The United States finally found the net in the 50th minute when Wambach buried a shot from the top right of the box into the lower left corner. After getting a pass from Lilly, Wambach touched the ball to her right and finished well.

She showed no signs of the injured toe that left doubts about her status for the game.

"When we had that one goal, I felt like this was going to be the point where we start taking advantage of the game," Wambach said.

But minutes later, Wambach was cut on the back of her head in a collision with a North Korea player. A stream of blood started running down her face and she had to be taken to the locker room for stitches.

U.S. coach Greg Ryan didn't use a substitute for Wambach and North Korea took advantage of having an extra player to score two goals in four minutes.

Son Hui Kil scored in the 58th minute when her shot from outside the box, that looked like a routine save, slipped through Solo's hands.

"It's a day in the life of a goalkeeper," said Solo, making her first World Cup start. "The conditions are slick and it is wet out there, but it happens."

The mistake looked even more costly in the 62nd minuted when Yong Ae Kim ran onto a loose ball in the box and scored into the left side of the net to give North Korea a 2-1 lead.

It was the first time the United States has trailed since October of last year in a 1-1 tie with Denmark.

"I had to hurry up the process and yell at the doctors to get it done quicker. I was in the locker room getting stitched, so I didn't see the second goal. I heard it, and was screaming what happened, what happened, and I cursed some bad words and hurried up and got my jersey on and ran as fast I could to the midfield stripe to get back on," Wambach said.

Soon after Wambach returned to the game, O'Reilly delivered the equalizer the United States needed. She picked up a rebound in the box and took a shot with the outside of her right foot, tucking the ball into the right corner of the goal.

Both teams created chances in the final 20 minutes, but North Korea had the best two opportunities in the closing seconds of an exciting match.

One forced Solo to range to her right and dive to knock a sure goal wide of the net. The second chance wasn't as dangerous, but Solo did a nice job to control a low shot on the wet surface.

"I think we are walking away with our heads high," O'Reilly said. "We got a point and that is important at this stage in the tournament."