Sweden 0-0 USA (Sweden advances 5-4 on penalties)
MELBOURNE, AUS–By the slimmest of margins, Sweden’s Lina Hurtig’s penalty backspinned over the line and eliminated the USA, 5-4, on penalties after a 0-0 draw after 120 minutes. Alyssa Naeher thought she had made the save and kept the ball out as it came back down, but VAR and later replays showed that the ball had completely cross the plane of the goal line by the slimmest of margins.
The USA had many opportunities to score in this match, but Sweden goalkeeper Zecira Musovic would make eleven saves including a few late.
“I had a really good feeling before the game, there was a good feeling among the squad,” said Musovic after the match.
“During the game you have to have each others’ backs, we knew we were facing a really good team. I am extremely proud.“To be able to perform in that way, it takes a lot of hard work that nobody sees. The reason I am a goalkeeper is to give our team the best chance to win the game. You just do what you do, it feels natural.”
Musovic would end up not having to make one in the shootout as Megan Rapinoe and Sophia Smith shot over the bar and Kelley O’Hara struck her shot off the post. Naeher, who ended up making one save all tournament, facing just two shots on goal in four matches, made one save in the shootout. She thought she had a second in the second, but VAR said otherwise.
“We just lost the World Cup by a millimeter. That’s tough,” said Naeher, who successfully converted her own penalty kick. “I am proud of the fight of the team. We knew we hadn’t done our best in the group stage and we wanted a complete team performance and the team came out and played great.”
By the statistics of this World Cup, this will go down as the worst performance ever for the US Women’s National Team. It’s the first time they exit before the semifinals, the first time they were kept off the scoresheet in consecutive matches as well as multiple times, and the fewest goals ever at a tournament with four. All of that is the result of not finishing chances throughout the tournament and going out by a literal millimeter.
“I mean, this is like a sick joke. For me personally, this is like dark comedy that I missed a penalty,” Rapinoe said as she blinked back tears. “This is the balance to the beautiful side of the game. I think it can be cruel.”
The cruel reality is that much like with the US Men’s Basketball Team at the 2004 Olympics, though there were signs earlier, the rest of the world has caught up with the US Women’s Soccer team and Sweden has passed them by for the trip to the quarterfinals. The focus now, starting with next year’s Olympics, is to change the questions now that other teams have found the answers to the current squad.
Netherlands 2-0 South Africa:
SYDNEY, AUS–The Dutch advanced past South Africa, 2-0, at Sydney Football Stadium, but the Banyana Banyana did not make things easy–even after Jill Roord opened the scoring in the ninth minute. In fact, South African has seven shots on target, five from Thembi Kgatlana, but goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar would stop each and every one.
Lineth Beerensteyn would put away the second goal in the 68th minute after Kaylin Swart mishandled her shot. It was not all good news for the Orange Lionesses as Danielle van den Donk picked up her second yellow of the tournament and will miss the quarterfinal against Spain on Friday (Thursday night in North America).
Meanwhile, Sweden go to Eden Park to face Japan on Friday. As for the USA, it is an unexpected trip back home and to figure out how to return to the top of the Women’s Soccer mountain after being pushed off Down Under.
USWNT
