In arguably the most shocking outcomes in the ongoing Women’s FIFA World Cup, Sweden defeated the defending champions USA to secure their spot in the quarter-finals of the prestigious tournament. The four-time and current champions USA valiantly fought the Swedish side to a goalless draw in the playtime only to falter in the penalty shootouts where Sweden edged ahead with a 5-4 advantage to seal the win at Melbourne on the 6th of August.
The round-of-16 clash was an epic encounter between two of the top-ranked teams in Women’s International Football, where the World No. 1 American side squared off against 3rd ranked Sweden at the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium.
While both teams were pretty competitive throughout the match, the USA, being the stronger side, dominated most of the match with 11 shots on target out of 22 attempts compared to just 1 out of 9 shots on target from Sweden. Even in terms of ball possession, the USA lead the charge with 58% of possession while the Swedes had 42% possession.
Road to the Top 16!
Both teams have had a good run in the tournament up to the knockout stages. While the USA finished second in the group stage after beating Vietnam in their opening match and posting draws against the Netherlands and Portugal, Sweden.
However, in the end, both teams fought one another to a draw during playtime, and the conclusion of the match had to be decided through penalties.
The Penalties!
The penalty shootout was full of drama! The shootouts kicked off with Andi Sullivan taking the first shot for the USA. She sent a powerful shot into the lower-left-hand corner of the goal. Musovic dived the right way but still had no chance to get there. Fridolina Rolfo walked up for the first Swedish spot. She fired a curling left-footed shot into the side netting that no goalkeeper in the world could have blocked.
Both sides then went neck-to-neck throughout, with the first round of penalties ending in a draw. This prompted that the winner of the match will be decided through sudden death penalties, meaning the first side to miss a penalty loses.
The USA turned out to be on the receiving end when substitute Kelley O’Hara missed her spot as her shot deflected off the post, allowing Sweden a chance to win it. Lina Hurtig stepped in for the spot and her shot deflected off the hands of goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher, but the ricochet was deemed to have crossed the line when examined by goal-line technology. Ultimately, Sweden ended up picking a dream victory over the defending champions to advance into the quarter-finals.
It was a tragic and shocking outcome as the defending champs, United States crashed out of the World Cup in the round of 16, thus failing to reach the semifinals for the first time in the history of this tournament.
Following the historic upset, Sweden will next be facing off against Japan in the quarter-final, while the USA, the most successful team in Women’s World Football, make their earliest-ever exit from the Women’s World Cup. There’s more drama as we proceed further, with hosts Australia facing Denmark in Sydney, while England takes on Nigeria in Brisbane. Both matches taking place tomorrow!
