August 6 – The defending champions United States crashed out of the Women’s World Cup following a dramatic penalty shootout in the round of 16 against Sweden, the earliest exit ever for the Americans in the tournament, drawing the curtain over a golden age for the team.
Megan Rapinoe smiled wryly. She had just missed her penalty and perhaps she felt what was coming: Sophia Smith and O’Hara also failed to convert their penalties, but Sweden’s Lina Hurtig did, be it just by millimetres, to steer the Europeans to a quarter-final with Japan and knock out the holders who were in search of an unprecedented third consecutive world title. For the first time in World Cup history, the Americans have not reached the semi-finals.
It was the most dramatic of endings for the US. Goal-line technology showed that goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher had not done enough to keep Hurtig’s spot kick out. The American number one went the right way but she spilled the ball.
Sweden were indebted to their goalkeeper Zecira Musovic, who made 11 saves to keep the United States, stung by criticism following a poor group stage, at bay. Lindsey Horan came closest twice for her team either side of the half, but the woodwork and a brilliant Musovic prevented Horan from finding the breakthrough.
Once again, the US outshot their opponents. This time, 22-9, but once again the performance fell short of the level required to dispatch European opposition. The Americans had also struggled against the Netherlands and Portugal in the group stage and that lack of efficiency came back to bite them. Sweden were minimalist in their approach, sitting back to absorb the pressure.
Indicating that his time at the helm of the national team might be up, US manager Vlatko Andonovski defended the performance: ”I thought that we had a great gameplan, great strategy, we executed the game plan, we had the right personnel on the field to execute the game plan and if I had to coach this group, this game, all over again, I’d probably do the same.”
With the exit, Rapinoe and other stars depart the world stage and won’t return for the 2027 finals. The US won their second title in 2015 and confirmed their supremacy in 2019 when at times they rode their luck against Spain, France and England. That hegemony came to an end on Sunday. The world champions are going home.
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