Women’s World Cup USA vs Sweden
By, Danielle Jaculewicz
Without the stress of elimination play, the United States and Sweden battled in a Women’s World Cup game as if their seasons were on the line. On Thursday, June 20th 22,418 spectators from Sweden and the United States packed into Staude Océane in Le Havre, France to watch the strong U.S. team battle Sweden in the Women’s World Cup. The United States team was able to defeat Sweden 2–0 after 97 minutes of play. Neither team had the stress of advancing because regardless of the outcome, both teams will move on. Even though these teams were not under pressure they both came out pressing. “We have a long history with Sweden and have had some pretty tight matches,” said USA Soccer Coach, Jill Ellis after the game. A notable game between the two countries was at the 2016 Olympic Games when Sweden beat the U.S. in penalty kicks. Today, it was a different game as the U.S. came out on top showing their strength in the group stage.
The U.S. team showed their dominance right out of the gate. Lindsey Horan scored a seemingly easy goal after only two minutes and 40 seconds in the game. This goal was the fastest to be scored in this World Cup thus far. Horan’s goal started a trend throughout the game with strong U.S. offensive pressure. Players like Tobin Heath, Megan Rapinoe, and Rose Lavelle ran circles around Sweden’s defense. By the second half of the game the U.S. had 67% possession over Sweden.
Going into the second half, the U.S. team had taken eleven shots with three on goal, dancing around Sweden’s team. Carli Lloyd went in for Alex Morgan after Morgan took a tumble in the first half, giving the soccer star some extra time to rest. As forwards on the U.S. team continued driving and Crystal Dunn shut out Swedish powerhouses Kosovare Asllani and Sofia Jakobsson, the U.S. continued to look strong. A pivotal moment in extending the U.S. lead happened after Tobin Heath was able to maneuver around a defender and scored a goal in the fiftieth minute of the game. This goal went under review as it appeared that Carli Lloyd had been offsides but after minutes of analysis it was ruled a goal. Time taken to make calls throughout the game added a whopping seven minutes added on after the ninety minute match. This could give the Swedish team a glimmer of hope to score a goal against the outstanding U.S. team.
The Swedes made some good shots on the U.S. goal, but goalie Alyssa Naeher made incredible saves. As the U.S. closed the door beating Sweden 2–0 in a seemingly easy fashion, the road ahead will be tougher. As the U.S. has not seen too much competition yet, seeing as they have scored eighteen goals during the Women’s World Cup, thirteen of them from the game against Thailand. The U.S. Women’s Soccer team faces Spain next Monday. This game should be a battle against star forward Jennifer Hermoso on the Spanish side. As for Sweden, they face Canada next. The rest of the Women’s World Cup is going to be a showdown, but who will come out on top? For now, the U.S. team is showing a promising future.
