U.S. beats Sweden to remain undefeated in the group stages
They say lightning never strikes twice. The U.S. Women’s National Team, however, will attempt to prove this myth wrong as they attempt to win their second FIFA Women’s World Cup in a row. With a strong performance in the group stages and momentum moving forward, the United States seems to be the favorites as they’ve obliterated Group F with all 3 wins and an 18 goal difference coming mostly from the 13–0 win over Thailand last week.
On Thursday, a match between Sweden and the United States for the FIFA Women’s World Cup was played in Stade Océane, France. This match was played as the last of the group stages to determine who were to finish at the top of the group as the US defeats Sweden 2–0.
The U.S hits the first blow with a goal within the first 3 minutes where a low corner was played in by Megan Rapinoe that went through multiple players legs but ended up landing in Lindsey Hogan’s foot where she taps in the first goal. This goal marks an incredible achievement as it was the fastest recorded goal in the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup. This early lead from the U.S allowed the team to play a slower, more possessive tempo as they kept the ball mostly on their side and at roughly the halfway line. The U.S were handed multiple opportunities but were unable to finish.
Coming out of the locker room, a substitute was made, swapping the captain Alex Morgan for Carli Lloyd at striker. The captain armband was passed to the first goal scorer, Lindsey Horan. It was only as fast as 5 minutes into the half where the U.S strikes again as Jonna Andersson, of Sweden, scored an ‘own goal’. The goal was challenged by an offside call which was reviewed with VAR (Video Assistant Referee) as it was thought that Carli Lloyd was offside and involved in the play that leads to the second goal. This call was overturned, however, as it was decided that the goal stands.
The rest of the game went by scoreless as the U.S. National Team looked to
play with time and run out the clock. The period between the second goal and the final whistle blown involved a lot of rough and physical plays, including head collisions involving Nathalie Björn of Sweden and Kelley O’Hara of the U.S. which looked serious but both seem to be fine after a couple of minutes. The game concluded with a total of 14 fouls, coming mostly from Sweden with 10 fouls.
By the time the final three whistle was blown, the U.S. Women’s National Team seems jubilant especially the player of the match, Tobin Heath.
The U.S. Team will be looking forward to face Spain in the round of 16, who finished second in Group B under Germany. With their current form and momentum, this team is definitely one of the most electrifying teams to watch as they’ll attempt to win their second Women’s World Cup in a row, winning one previously in 2015. While Sweden is going to look to bounce back from this loss as they face Canada in the upcoming week.
