The United States Women's National Team has been a perennial powerhouse, a model that every other team looks up to, and an organization that has set the bar for success on the international stage.
It has been 4,403 days since they last lost a game in the knockout stage of the FIFA Women's World Cup.
As was the same case during the 2016 Summer Olympics, Sweden took down USA in penalties in the first round.
While the match seven years ago was a 1-1 game heading into penalties, this iteration was scoreless through 130 minutes of regulation and extra time, including stoppage time.
The Americans entered the tournament as the two-time defending champions, but they got bounced in the first round of the knockout stage, the first time they lost before the semifinals, losing 5-4 in penalties by the narrowest of margins, with Lina Hurtig's winning goal crossing the line by a single millimeter, after VAR confirmation.
They made it into the knockout stage despite having just one win, and they struggled all night long as they ran into a brick wall by the name of Swedish netminder Zećira Mušović as she put on a clinic in goal, to the tune of 11 saves.
Megan Rapinoe, who announced that this year would be her final World Cup of her career, came off the bench at the 99th minute in place of Alex Morgan with the Americans putting a lot of pressure on Mušović throughout the match, but could not break through, leading to the game headed to penalties.
USA scored on their first three kicks, but they saw attempts from Rapinoe, Sophia Smith, and Kelley O'Hara miss, with the first two sailing wide to the right and O'Hara hitting the right post. Goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher got a hand on Hurtig's attempt, nearly keeping it out, and after Naeher knocked the ball away a second time, a VAR check showed that the ball crossed the goal line by a millimeter, ending their bid for a third straight title, which would have been the first in World Cup history, both the men's and women's.
This was the second time the Americans lost in the penalty shootout, the other being in the 2011 Final against Japan.
In this year's World Cup, USA went 238 consecutive minutes without a goal, the longest in Women's World Cup history.
The big storyline heading into the match was the Americans being without Rose Lavelle, as she served a one-game suspension for receiving her second yellow card in USA's final group stage match against Portugal.
Emily Sonnett made her debut in this match, taking Lavelle's place, sliding into the midfield, playing alongside Andi Sullivan, with Lindsey Horan as the attacking midfielder.
Horan and Trinity Rodman had countless chances for the Americans, with Horan hitting the crossbar, had another shot stopped by a diving Mušović off the Swede's left hand, and another one blocked in extra time.
Rodman, on the other hand, registered three shots, getting stopped on two of them, the first from outside the box on a pass from Smith after Smith blocked Nathalie Björn's pass, but Mušović stood her ground. The second one was where Rodman slowed down the tempo, then cut around the defense for her second shot, only to be turned away by the netminder's hands diving right.
The third shot was up high, missing everyone after a give-and-go from Horan.
It was a heartbreaking end in a tournament in which they couldn't seem to get going in their first knockout stage game without two-time winning head coach Jill Ellis.
This game was perhaps the best game the Americans played, and head coach Vlatko Andonovski tried making some changes to the team, such as a double pivot of Sonnett and Sullivan, giving the defenders another option in passing lanes, especially with Crystal Dunn on the left side and Emily Fox on the right.
He also wanted his girls to defend in a 4-2-3-1 formation by dropping Rodman and Smith with Horan, while attacking in a 4-3-3 formation. The latter was tweaked slightly to add a second holding midfielder, but not much has changed, as has been the same case throughout the tournament.
Lynn Williams entered for Rodman in the 67th minute, and 22 minutes later, Williams set up a cross for longtime stalwart Alex Morgan, where her header was denied on the full extension of Mušović's arms.
Morgan was denied again in the 96th minute on a tight angle shot, three minutes before she was subbed out for Rapinoe.
Williams was involved in two chances in extra time, the first on a feed from Smith at the 101st minute, moving to the right side of the box and firing one off Mušović, though Horan had a rebound blocked in front. Williams also set up a cross for Smith, though the Swede put her hands up to stop the shot.
Sweden's success has mostly come from crosses, corner kicks, and other dead ball opportunities. In fact, four of their nine goals have come from corner kicks, though the Americans have shut that down effectively, allowing just seven crosses at halftime.
One of such chances came on a corner kick from the left side that was strongly bent towards the goal at the 21st minute, but Naeher battled it away off the line.
Naeher was rather shaky at times during the group stage, but she held her ground in her own way, stopping a free kick from Filippa Angeldahl at the 67th minute, leaping up in the air to grab the ball to deny an opportunity for Magdanela Eriksson in front.
And in extra time, she dove right for the loose ball in the box after a pass from Fridolina Rolfö as she was looking for Rebecka Blomqvist, who was racing for the go-ahead goal.
But in the end, it was Chelsea's backup goalkeeper who stole the show, with a litany of outstanding saves, one bigger than the last one, and there was no doubt that she was named the player of the match.
She entered the night relatively untested, with just 0.5 goals prevented in the group stage, which ranked outside of the top 10 goalkeepers in the tournament.
But she stepped up in a big way, with a legendary performance in what will go down as an instant classic.
And she has led Sweden to a quarterfinals berth against Japan at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand. The two teams will square off at 3:30 AM EDT on August 11th. As is the case for the quarterfinals onwards, the game will be televised on FOX for American viewers, TSN for Canadian viewers, and Televisa for Mexican viewers.
Scoring
None
Penalty Shootout
Round | Team | Shooter | Goal? | Description | Score |
1 | USA | Andi Sullivan | Yes | Right foot shot to bottom left corner | 1-0 USA |
1 | Sweden | Fridolina Rolfö | Yes | Left foot shot to bottom right corner | 1-1 Tie |
2 | USA | Lindsey Horan | Yes | Right foot shot to bottom left corner | 2-1 USA |
2 | Sweden | Elin Rubensson | Yes | Right foot shot to bottom left corner | 2-2 Tie |
3 | USA | Kristie Mewis | Yes | Left foot shot to top left corner | 3-2 USA |
3 | Sweden | Nathalie Björn | No | Right foot shot is too high | 3-2 USA |
4 | USA | Megan Rapinoe | No | Right foot shot is too high | 3-2 USA |
4 | Sweden | Rebecka Blomqvist | No | Right foot shot is saved bottom right corner | 3-2 USA |
5 | USA | Sophia Smith | No | Right foot shot is close, but misses to the right | 3-2 USA |
5 | Sweden | Hanna Bennison | Yes | Right foot shot to high center of the goal | 3-3 Tie |
6 | USA | Alyssa Naeher | Yes | Right foot shot to high center of the goal | 4-3 USA |
6 | Sweden | Magdalena Eriksson | Yes | Left foot shot to top right corner | 4-4 Tie |
7 | USA | Kelley O'Hara | No | Hits the right post with a right foot shot | 4-4 Tie |
7 | Sweden | Lina Hurtig | Yes | Right foot shot initially saved, but crosses the goal line at the center of the goal by a millimeter; goal awarded after VAR review | 5-4 Sweden |
Substitutions
USA, 66': Lynn Williams replaces Trinity Rodman.
Sweden, 82': Sofia Jakobsson replaces Johanna Rytting Kaneryd.
Sweden, 82': Lina Hurtis replaces Kosovare Asllani.
Sweden, 97': Hanna Bennison replaces Filippa Angeldahl because of an injury.
USA, 99': Megan Rapinoe replaces Alex Morgan.
Sweden, 112': Rebecka Blomqvist replaces Stina Blackstenius.
USA, 120': Kelley O'Hara replaces Emily Fox.
USA, 120': Kristie Mewis replaces Emily Sonnett.
Disciplinary
Sweden, 49': Kosovare Asllani is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
USA, 119': Julie Ertz is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Team Stats
Possession: USA 58% advantage
Shots: Sweden 9, USA 22
On Target: Sweden 1, USA 11
Fouls: Sweden 15, USA 11
Yellow Cards: Sweden 1, USA 1
Red Cards: Sweden 1, USA 1
Offsides: Sweden 1, USA 4
Corner Kicks: Sweden 3, USA 9
Saves: Sweden 11, USA 1
Miscellaneous
Venue: Melbourne Rectangular Stadium (AAMI Park)
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Attendance: 27,706 (Capacity: 30,050)
Referee: Stéphanie Frappart (France)
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