'We have kicked our asses, haven't we?' The Olympic Wake-Up Call versus Sweden USWNT Reels
Sweden's 3-0 loss was a gross waking-up for the US, whose gold medal views became much cloudier in Tokyo.
Even though the U.S. Women's Soccer Team won a World Cup and won victory after victory in the last five years, its quarter-final Olympic elimination into Sweden has lasted.
It was held in advance of the meeting between two sides at the 2019 Women's World Cup (2-0 versus a weaker than the stronger Sweden XI in the United States). The pre-Olympic test for both heavyweights was held in advance of an April friend in Stockholm (1-1 on the two sides after the U.S. late penalty). The USWNT opened its Tokyo Olympics aptly against the same opponent it set off in Brasilia in 2016 and was amazed by the earliest removal of it ever at the tournament as the countries returned to the site of the crime.
Sweden picked up the enduring story on Wednesday and kicked the door, set a disturbing olympic tone for the US and began a hunt for gold.
Dominant in almost every aspect and with a 3-0 victory, Swedes set themselves on a clinic against the No. 1. world team to execute a note-perfect game plan, exposing the USA so as not to come near to even the 16th iteration of Sweden.
"We have kicked our asses, haven't we?" Advance Megan Rapinoe, who had already subbed 2–0 with her squad in the 64th minute on Wednesday, remarked concisely afterward.
You could feel from the beginning that something has been amiss with the team of Vlatko Andonovski and that usually comes from the first whistle and doesn't let go. "Off days" are typically code in the U.S. for days when they strive to complete chances, finally finding out what was a 44-game unbeatable streak, and a scorching run over the last quatre years, when its lone loss came to France in January 2019.
But in Tokyo it was virtually immediately the United States that was subjected to the unrelenting pressure and disruptions of Sweden repeatedly and did not produce any form of joint attack.
The traditionally powerful U.S. Middlefield was played completely during the first half of the Olympic Performances, Missing star Julie Ertz, who had not been playing since May because of a knee damage, and the defense split and diced via uncharacteristic games like Crystal Dunn and Abby Dahlkemper. The six months of Andonovski — who brought attacker Alex Morgan to Ertz for Sam Mewis and Carli Lloyd — had little to do with changing the trend of the match and could not stop bleeding, as the Swedes had hit two other times.
In 2016 Sweden was paid much attention to a defensive play style that brought penalties for the game and crushed the United States code, including the legendary postgame statements of then-U.S. goalie Hope Solo.
"We have been playing a bunch of cowards. Today the best team hasn't won. They didn't want to open the game. They didn't want to get the ball through. That day, Solo observed, "They did not want to play amazing soccer.
This time nobody could make a comparable charge. Sweden was courageous and bold, with few opponents being able to discombobulate the USA, and with the GK Alyssa Naeher assaulting pressure. While Naeher saved a number of highlights early – and kept the score even worse than 3–0 – it wasn't much that she could do to stop the increasingly unavoidable attack.
In the meantime, the US was unlikely to have any chance, which was compounded by the fact that the first corner kick was taken by almost one half. Rose Lavelle and Christen Press attempts to clang the pole were as engrossing as they were to the U.S. attack, which was usually so powerful and inconsistent but was contained in a five-shoot by Sweden who played without Magdalena Eriksson's star-center.
"This game must be learned from our blunders and then we must go forward. We have to forget it," Telemundo told Morgan. "We need to take every game and then obviously it takes care of our bodies since the tournament is shorter than the World Cup, so the turnaround is much quicker."
With a clear expectation, the US came to Japan—nothing short of its sixth gold medal is a letdown. Of the original 18 which made the cut before rosters to 22, only a 30-year-old Kristie Mewis was not part of the 2019 world cup winning team, he chose a battle-tested, and also older, experience-packed lineup. This is a team that has been quite proud of its ruthlessness, confidence and willingness to win for a long time. There's only been a four-time defeat since the Olympic Exit in 2016, three times over a five-month period in 2017 when the team's appearing inventiveness showed real splits and then coach Jill Ellis on the rink.
The response to this rugged patch, which has only been lost once in the four years thereafter, shows the mindset and resilience of the group. Those characteristics will now be fully tested in Japan, where the US controls its own destiny, but its path to the podium is tricky.
Now Sweden has two group-round games left on Group G driver seat, for both (as opposed to New Zealand and Australia). In the quarterfinals the winner of the group will meet one of the two other teams, while the winner of the Group F will be difficult to draw, most probably from the Netherlands or from Brazil (third place would not necessarily damage the United States, as eight of the twelve teams of the tournament will advance to the knockout round).
Brutal draws are nothing new for the USWNT—look no farther than its 19th world cup run when host France won a slugfest semi-final with England in a harsh quarter-final atmosphere—but in quite a long time he didn't have to respond to such early disappointment in a major tourney. And, in unknown waters, the present roster is not just Lloyd and Tobin Heath.
Lloyd told Telemundo after the Wednesday's defeat, recalling the US' 2–0 loss to Norway during the Pékin Games, "2008 Olympics I belonged to the team, we lost our first play also and we got away with a gold medal. "Truly, it's crucial that we don't live on this game too much."
It will not be long before the group stage finale against Australia on Saturday, with New Zealand waiting on Tuesday. The United States will be favored to win, and New Zealand especially offers a good chance to rebound and get along. With the requirement of a lineup rotation, Saturday after Andonovski places the apparently best foot of the US against Sweden will have to be a real team effort.
Ultimately, in these Games the women of the United States will be judged by one point—whether they bring the gold medal that they didn't have in Rio. They couldn't be done with Swedes to get there either. If the two parties in a group finish one way at a time or another, when will they be able to meet and add to their decorated rivalry the next time they meet?
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