MELBOURNE, Australia — The U.S. women's national team is headed home. Ousted by Sweden. Again. On penalties. Again.
USWNT goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher appeared to deflect a penalty shot by Lina Hurtig, but video assistant referee showed the ball rolled back across the goal line by millimeters, giving Sweden the 5-4 win on penalties after a scoreless draw in the round of 16.
This is the earliest exit the USWNT has ever made at a major tournament, having reached the semifinals at all but one World Cup and Olympics.
That one exception? The 2016 Olympics, when Sweden beat the USWNT on penalties.
As soon as the referee signaled that Sweden’s final kick was good, Sweden players rushed toward the goal while Naeher and the Americans stood there stunned. The call will be controversial — some part of the ball has to be over the line, and it just barely was.
WORLD CUP CENTRAL: 2023 Women's World Cup Live Scores, Schedules, Standings, Bracket and More
Three U.S. players missed PKs: Megan Rapinoe, Sophia Smith and Kelley O’Hara, leaving the door open for Sweden.
With columnist Nancy Armour on the ground, USA TODAY Sports offers the latest updates, highlights, analysis and more. Follow along.
The USWNT match against Sweden was scoreless the full distance, including extra time, leading to an intense round of penalty kicks that eventually saw the U.S. knocked out of the round of 16.
Officially, Sweden defeated the U.S. (0-0) 5-4.
Needing to convert their seventh penalty attempt to get Sweden to advance, Lina Hurtig's shot was initially saved by USWNT keeper Alyssa Naeher, but the ball just crossed over the line to count, eliminating the U.S. Here are the full highlights from the match.
After the American side was eliminated, coach Vlatko Andonovski said in his post-match press conference that he was "proud" of the players in the face of the criticism the team faced during the World Cup. He also addressed the final penalty kick and said he still could not see how the ball crossed the line.
"It's a tough moment," Andonovski said. "It's a moment that's hard to go through. Until the last whistle is blown, you have hopes that the ball didn't cross the line but from what I understand now, obviously the referee called that it did. I see pictures and I still can't see how."
Vlako Andonovski's postgame press conference after USWNT's elimination vs. Sweden
Andonovski leaves the World Cup with a 1-3-0 record. He declined to talk about his future with the program.
"I think it's selfish to think about me, my future, what I'm going to do, when we have 20-year-old players going through this situation," he said.
After directing harsh criticism at the USWNT over their play in the group stage, former player and current FOX analyst Carli Lloyd took a more understanding tone after the U.S. defeat in the round of 16.
"It has just been kind of the same recurring themes: how are we creating chances, how are we finishing chances?" Lloyd said during post-match analysis. "It's many years of this. I don't think these tactical question marks that we've all had have sprung up this World Cup. So I think that there's definitely some questions that need to be asked and a lot of evaluating."
The USWNT was eliminated Sunday in the round of 16 0-0 (5-4) after a tense penalty kick shootout in which goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher's attempted save came up just short. This marks the earliest-ever exit for the U.S. in a World Cup or Olympics.
The squad will certainly see some turnover in the coming years, as aging stars transition out of competitive soccer, such as Megan Rapinoe, who announced her retirement prior to the tournament. The USWNT faced several difficult injuries ahead of the World Cup but will need the wave of young players to continue to develop and build a new identity that stands apart from the side that won the previous two World Cups and was a dominant force. The side could also see a change at the top, as coach Vlatko Andonovski's decisions will come under scrutiny after the U.S. was eliminated.
FOX analyst Alexi Lalas, who was a long-time member of the men's U.S. men's national team in the 1990s, offered a sharp assessment of the USWNT in the minutes after Sweden defeated the U.S. in penalty kicks.
"If you look at the last three U.S. World Cup teams, this was weakest of the three," Lalas said during post-match commentary. "Is this a surprise they’re going out? Not necessarily."
MELBOURNE, Australia — The end of the U.S. women's national team dynasty was as embarrassing as it was quick.
The two-time defending champions came to this World Cup with a chance to make history as the first team, men’s or women’s, to win three consecutive titles. Instead, they made history of a wholly different sort with their earliest exit ever at a World Cup or an Olympics.
They were humbled by Sweden once again, losing 0-0 (5-4) after a penalty shootout Sunday morning in the round of 16. That makes three major tournaments out of four – for those counting – that Sweden, the world’s No. 3 team, has gotten the better of the four-time world champions.
Read Nancy Armour's full column here.
USWNT coach Vlatko Andonovski, who was skewered for much of the 2023 World Cup because of various tactical decisions — including his puzzling lack of subs — told FOX soccer reporter Jenny Taft immediately after the USWNT’s heartbreaking loss to Sweden that “soccer can be cruel sometimes.”
“I’m so proud of the team, the girls, everybody on the field,” Andonovski said. “I know we were criticized for the way we played and for different moments in the group stage. I think we came out today and showed what we’re all about — we showed the grit, resilience, fight, the bravery … unfortunately, soccer can be cruel sometimes.”
Andonovski said the USWNT has been working on penalties “for the last nine, ten months. Sometimes you miss.”
But he’s optimistic about the future, mentioning that so many young U.S. players who made their World Cup debuts this summer will benefit from this experience.
“I think they’ll dominate the next one,” he said.
The USWNT is moving on … to penalty kicks.
And believe it or not, they haven’t had to do that in awhile.
While Brandi Chastain and the 1999 USWNT were responsible for one of the most iconic moments in U.S. sports history courtesy of penalty kicks — and their wild win over China — the USWNT hasn’t had to go to PKs at a World Cup since 2011. That tournament they had to do so twice: in the quarterfinals to beat Brazil, and then in the final, when they lost to Japan.
The only other time a USWNT match has gone to PKs in a World Cup game? The 1999 final.
Another PK note: Only players who were on the pitch at the end of play are allowed to take kicks. That means Alex Morgan, who subbed out in the 99th minute, won't be taking one.
The USWNT team, with penalty kicks vs. Sweden rapidly approaching, subbed in Kelley O'Hara and Kristy Mewis in the 120th minute.
Julie Ertz got hit with a yellow card in the 119th minute of the USWNT’s match vs. Sweden.
The U.S. is missing Rose Lavelle after she picked up two yellows in group play. If the USWNT beats Sweden and advances, Lavelle will be available for the quarterfinals.
MELBOURNE, Australia — It felt for the first 90 minutes that the USWNT was on the verge of getting a goal. The first half of extra time was no different.
Lynn Williams had a banger of a shot but Sweden goalkeeper Zećira Mušović made a fingertip save. Regardless of the outcome, she's been the player of the match so far.
Megan Rapinoe subbed in for Alex Morgan in the 99th minute, one of the few subs the U.S. has used. Rapinoe is one of the USWNT’s best players at set plays, and was the star of the 2019 World Cup.
The 2023 World Cup will be Rapinoe’s last — she announced before leaving for the tournament that she plans to retire at the end of this season.
For all of you just waking up and wondering if the USA beat Sweden in the World Cup or is going home, we don't know yet! The USWNT has had some great looks, but score is 0-0 at the end of regulation. That means we're on to 30 minutes of extra time. If it's still tied after that, penalty kicks are next.
This is the first 2023 World Cup game to go to extra time. No 2023 World Cup game has gone to penalty kicks — yet.
In the 66th minute, Lynn Williams subbed in for Trinity Rodman.
Rodman, who had been sick earlier this week with a cold and missed practice Friday, got a handful of good looks vs. Sweden. Williams started for the USWNT vs. Portugal, and will try to give them a lift with her fresh legs.
Ending in a draw is only for the group stage.
Should any knockout round game end in a tie after regulation, the teams first play an extra 30 minutes. If it’s still tied after extra time, the game moves to penalty kicks. Teams alternate PKs, with each getting five shots. If it’s still tied after five PKs each, it moves to sudden death PKs.
No 2023 World Cup game has gone to penalty kicks — yet.
MELBOURNE, Australia − This was, by far, the best the USWNT has looked so far this tournament. The team finally looked like a two-time defending champion, playing with energy and cohesiveness. Vlatko Andonovski's decision to start Emily Sonnett in the midfield seemed like a head-scratcher at first, but it did the trick.
Sonnett set the tone early, mixing it up with two Sweden players on the first possession and the Americans took off from there. They created two chances in the first seven minutes alone, and Sweden had no answer for Trinity Rodman. She got several shots off that Sweden's goalkeeper, Zećira Mušović, had to smother or punch away. Lindsey Horan almost had another set-piece goal, too, her header off Andi Sullivan's corner kick banging off the crossbar.
− Nancy Armour, USA TODAY Sports columnist
More good news for the Americans (and all their fans who got up early to watch them in the Round of 16 vs. Sweden): The USWNT has never lost a World Cup game in regulation when tied at halftime. They’ve tallied 12 wins and five draws during that time. That includes the 2011 final against Japan, which ended in a 2-2 draw in regulation but which the USWNT lost 3-1 on penalty kicks.
Does that mean a win against Sweden is in the future? We’ll find out in the next 45 minutes.
If they were giving out MVP awards at halftime, honors would likely go to Sweden's goalkeeper, Zećira Mušović, who has made a handful of clutch saves in the first half of the USWNT-Sweden match up.
She continued her stellar play in the second half. In the 53rd minute, USWNT midfielder Lindsey Horan had a volley right in front of the goal, but Mušović was able to get her hands on it, saving what looked like was going to be the USWNT's first goal.
Mušović, 27, made her international debut with the Swedish national team in March 2018. This is her second World Cup. She plays club ball with Chelsea.
Late in the first half the USWNT is still tied 0-0 with Sweden, but there is good news: The Americans look much better.
From kickoff the USWNT has been energetic and aggressive, especially compared to their last two group games vs. Netherlands and Portugal, respectively.
Forty-one minutes into the match, the Americans have already registered five shots, two on target, including a couple of good looks from Trinity Rodman. Lindsey Horan also nearly had another goal off a corner kick, her header banging off the crossbar.
Sweden, meanwhile, has just one shot, which was not on target.
The Americans play Sweden in the World Cup knockout round of 16 at 5 a.m. ET Sunday.
MELBOURNE, Australia − We've got the starting lineup for the USWNT's first match of the knockout round vs. Sweden. Just a reminder that Sweden is one of the USWNT’s biggest rivals and the Americans are here after finishing second in their group.
To say this lineup is ... interesting is putting it mildly. Emily Sonnett is making her first start in a year in the midfield, and Trinity Rodman is back in the starting lineup after being replaced by Lynn Williams against Portugal.
Here's the full lineup:
Goalkeeper: Alyssa Naeher
Defenders: Crystal Dunn, Julie Ertz, Naomi Girma, Emily Fox
Midfielders: Andi Sullivan, Lindsey Horan, Emily Sonnett
Forwards: Sophia Smith, Alex Morgan, Trinity Rodman
All 2023 World Cup games will be broadcast in the U.S. by Fox, on both its main channel and FS1. It’s also available to stream on FoxSports.com and the Fox Sports app. Spanish-language coverage will be on Telemundo.
If the USWNT beats Sweden on Sunday, the team will play at 3:30 a.m. ET Friday, August 11 against Japan.
Melbourne is 14 hours ahead of the East Coast of the United States. The game kicked off at 7 p.m. Melbourne time.
I know I watched the 2011 World Cup, but I don’t remember where I was. In 2015, I was at an Olympic Development Program regional camp, and we all watched together. I was like, “Wow, this is incredible.” I’m a fan, you know? I’m rooting for them, wanting them to win.
When I got called into my first full team camp, in October of 2020, that’s when I got the first taste of knowing I could play on this team. I was in college still, and knew I was good in college but I wasn’t sure I would be at the international and professional level.
The culture and the standards that have made the national team so successful, it’s not told to you. There’s no handbook. But you can feel the intensity when you come to camp. You can feel it. You can feel the focus, the attention to detail, and I think you quickly learn that’s the standard. To make it on this team, you have to live above that standard and keep pushing it. You see it in how people carry themselves, how they train, how they recover, how they take care of their bodies.
Read Naomi Girma’s full story, as told to Nancy Armour, here.
The Golden Ball and Golden Boot winner from the 2019 World Cup is suiting up for the U.S. for the 2023 World Cup, which will be her last.
Few athletes have met the moment like Megan Rapinoe. The U.S. women do not have a fourth World Cup title without her, nor gold (London) and bronze (Tokyo) medals from the Olympics. She, and Abby Wambach, saved the USWNT from making its earliest exit ever at a major international tournament in the quarterfinals of the 2011 World Cup.
It is what Rapinoe has done off the field, however, that has transformed this exceptional athlete into an icon whose impact will continue long after she retires. As it was with Muhammad Ali and Billie Jean King before her, there is the world as it existed before Megan Rapinoe and the world as it exists now, because of what she’s done and the stands she’s taken. Gender equity, LGBTQ rights and racial equality — gains have been made in these areas and others because of her willingness to use her platform.
“For me and for this team, it's always been the vibe of leaving everything better than where you found it,” Rapinoe told USA TODAY Sports in June. “Undeniably we've changed the game and been a part of these multi movements that are all kind of happening at the same time and have left the world in a better place.”
Nancy Armour, columnist: I could make a case for the game going either way. If the USWNT gets a goal early, I think they win handily. If it's another slog at halftime, Sweden advances.
Lindsay Schnell, reporter: I’m not sure if I’m overly optimistic or naive, but I have to think that purely based on the law of averages, the numerous looks the U.S. has been getting will go in eventually. So I’m picking the Americans, 2-1.
Most of America knows Alex Morgan as the USWNT’s active leading goal scorer, No. 5 on the all-time list. Or as one of its most marketable stars: Attractive and wholesome-looking, appealing to both soccer diehards and those who don’t know the first thing about the sport.
But Morgan is also a disruptor. Keenly aware of the advantages her stardom has afforded her, she actively uses them to advocate for others.
“She deserves a ton more credit than she gets in this regard,” said Becca Roux, executive director of the USWNT Players Association. “A lot of people talk,” Roux added. “She does a lot of work that people never see.”
Read the full story here.
When 14-year-old Sophia Smith told her family she was giving up basketball to concentrate fully on soccer, her dad, who played college hoops at Wyoming, took the news hard.
“Man, Soph, you could really be something in basketball,” Kenny Smith told his youngest daughter.
Sophia’s matter-of-fact response: “I’m going to be special in soccer.”
Talk about prescient.
Now 22, Smith is set to make her World Cup debut this summer with the U.S. women’s national team and show international audiences what a growing domestic fan base has known for a while: She’s about to take over.
“Her ability to turn and go 1-on-1 is next level,” said USWNT teammate Naomi Girma, who plays for the NWSL’s San Diego Wave and was Smith’s teammate at Stanford. “To a defender, she’s annoying.”
Read Lindsay Schnell’s full piece here.
Emily Sonnett is making her first-ever World Cup start vs. Sweden, filling in at midfield for the missing Rose Lavelle, who is suspended due to yellow card accumulation in group play.
This will be Sonnett’s 77th appearance with the USWNT, and her first start since July 14, 2022, in the semifinals of the Concacaf championship, where the USWNT qualified for both the World Cup and next year's Paris Olympics. And she scored, her only career goal with the USWNT.
Sonnett, 29, currently plays for the NSWL’s OL Reign in Seattle, but used to play with fellow USWNT midfield Andi Sullivan for the Washington Spirit.
Trinity Rodman sometimes has to remind herself that she is not dreaming.
Four years ago, she watched U.S. women’s national team stars like Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan win the World Cup in France. Ahead of the 2023 tournament in Australia/New Zealand, Rodman — yes, she is the daughter of NBA champion and Hall of Famer Dennis — finds herself calling Rapinoe and Morgan teammates, feeding them passes from the left wing.
“To be a part of it, to even talk about Trinity Rodman in a World Cup and putting my name with other names, I can’t even wrap my head around it,” Rodman told USA TODAY Sports in June, a few days after her 21st birthday. “But it’s so exciting.”
Rodman is among the youngest of the 23 players U.S. coach Vlatko Andonovksi selected for the World Cup, which begins July 20, providing Rodman an opportunity to show the country — and the world — there is a lot more to her than the last name.
Read Chris Bumbaca’s full story here.
Despite their uninspiring play thus far, World Cup betting odds still favor the United States in their round of 16 matchup against Sweden. But the gap has closed, with many of the top online sportsbooks pessimistic about the Americans' chances.
The USWNT is still slight +120 favorites to defeat Sweden (+230) this weekend, a slim margin that is a result of the Americans' inauspicious start to the tournament, according to BetMGM. For example, BetMGM had the United States as -350 favorites to defeat Portugal in their final group stage match that ended in a scoreless draw.
The Americans are also no longer the favorites to win the World Cup. England (+300) has passed the USWNT (+400) in that category, per BetMGM.
Understanding the current state of the USWNT and its impact on betting trends is paramount to understanding how to bet on sports. If you still believe the United States can win a third consecutive title, USA TODAY readers can get access to exclusive sportsbook promo codes to redeem at the best mobile sports betting apps that offer World Cup wagering. — Richard Morin, Sporting betting partnerships editor
Gannett may earn revenue from sports betting operators for audience referrals to betting services. Sports betting operators have no influence over nor are any such revenues in any way dependent on or linked to the newsrooms or news coverage. See applicable operator site for its terms and conditions. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, help is available. Call the National Council on Problem Gambling 24/7 at 1-800-GAMBLER. Must be 21 or older to gamble.
Two-time World Cup winner Carli Lloyd had some harsh words for the USWNT after the Americans’ 0-0 draw against Portugal.
According to Lloyd, her former team isn’t headed for the championship game anyway.
“(The draw against Portugal) was uninspiring. Disappointing. They don’t look fit. They’re playing as individuals and the tactics are too predictable,” Lloyd said on FOX Sports postgame show. "(They're) lucky to not be going home right now."
She reiterated some criticism she’s leveled at U.S. soccer since retiring in 2021, saying “the winning doesn’t matter as much anymore” as much as “a lot of the off the field things that are happening.”
Carli Lloyd’s criticisms might make for good TV. To her old teammates, they’re little more than noise.
The former team captain, who is now with FOX Sports, has spent several days ripping the U.S. women. She’s questioned their preparation as well as their passion, saying the USWNT is no longer committed to winning.
Current captain Lindsey Horan pushed back on those opinions Thursday when asked specifically about Lloyd’s comments.
“I always want to defend my team and say, 'You have no idea what’s going on behind the scenes. You have no idea, every single training, what we’re doing. Individually, collectively,’” Horan said. “For anyone to question our mentality hurts a little bit. But at the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter. I don’t really care. It’s what’s going on inside of here, what’s going on inside of the team.”
MELBOURNE, Australia − It was hard to know what to expect from the crowd tonight, and how many USWNT supporters would be in town. Most American fans likely expected the USWNT to be playing in Sydney and bought tickets accordingly, and switching gears would have taken some doing. It would have required changing flights and hotels, as well as buying new tickets. And unlike Auckland and Wellington, which were crawling with USWNT fans on game days, you didn't see many Americans in Melbourne this weekend.
But early on, the American Outlaws are making themselves heard here. They're leading rounds of chants from one side of the field and they're echoing throughout Melbourne Rectangular Stadium.
− Nancy Armour
No. The U.S. midfielder is suspended for the match against Sweden because of yellow card accumulation in group play.
The USWNT’s World Cup run, to say nothing of its hopes of becoming the first-ever team to win three consecutive titles, is already on fumes, and now they face a round-of-16 game Sunday night against Sweden. You know, the team that bounced the Americans out of the Rio Games in 2016, the only time they’ve not reached the semifinals at a World Cup or Olympics, and then thrashed them in the opener in Tokyo.
To say the U.S. prospects of advancing are not great is putting it nicely. But the USWNT has never been known to give up − 2011 quarterfinals, anyone? − and wacky, unexpected things have become the norm at this World Cup.
So how can the USWNT reverse its fortunes? Here are a few lineup ideas.
AUCKLAND, New Zealand − The U.S. women got away from what got them here.
Not the tactics or the rotation or even personal performances. Go back further. All the way back, to when they first fell in love with this game. The gleeful abandon they felt in running up and down the field, chasing a ball or scoring a goal. Their delight in playing with their friends.
That’s what’s been missing in this slog of a World Cup, one in which the USWNT has looked weighted down and lost as they’ve fallen short of everyone’s expectations including their own.
Joy.
Read Nancy Armour’s full column.
Here’s how the 2023 World Cup bracket is set up.
Here’s the full schedule for the knockout rounds.
Saturday, Aug. 5
Sunday, Aug. 6
Monday, Aug. 7
Tuesday, Aug. 8
Friday, Aug. 11
Here’s what you need to know about each of these matchups.
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