Sweden 5-4 United States; Sweden Kick Out America from Round of 16 on Penalties
In a stunning new unfolding Sweden have managed to kick the United States out from the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in a 5-4 defeat on penalties in the round of 16 match. The defending champions were shown the door out after both teams were facing a deadlock of 0-0 even at the end of extra time earlier on Sunday.
Sweden knock out USWNT from FIFA Women’s World Cup
In a completely unpredictable shootout of penalties, it was Lina Hurtig who had shot the winning strike and despite Alyssa Naeher, the goalkeeper of the United States, parrying the ball right on the line, the results had to be confirmed by the VAR.
Sophia Smith from the American side had a very unlucky field-day with her teammates because she had the perfect opportunity to snatch the win for her four-time champion nation, however, she ended up sending the ball completely over the bar.
The hero of the match was clearly the Swedish goalkeeper, Zecira Musovic who had emerged as the saviour of the Scandinavian country during this game as she made stunning 11 total saves excluding the penalty shootouts, where she further rejected the attempts by the Americans.
Despite dominating the ball possession by quite a margin, the United States failed to convert their chances, whereas, the Swedish front only got their first shot on goal in the late 85th minute of the game by substitute Sofia Jakobsson, which was also sent straight into the arms of goalkeeper Alyssa.
Megan Rapinoe misses penalty in 5-4 loss to Sweden
The Americans were seen trying all their cards when they put Megan Rapinoe into the pitch right from the bench and replaced their forward Alex Morgan during the 9th minute of the extra time. Even she was seen to be ineffective in scoring a winning goal for the Americans.
As the figurehead of the United States national team, Megan only entered as a substitute during the extra time hoping to make her appearance a memorable one. However, the match turned out to be a nightmarish one as Rapinoe was one of those three players who had missed their penalty kicks for America.
Rapinoe had previously won the Golden Ball, Golden Boot and the prestigious Ballon d’Or for her performance with the United States’ 2019 World Cup winning team. Her dreams of recreating the same magic in 2023 has miserably failed with a humiliating 5-4 defeat to Sweden and a missed penalty.
