MIAMI, Florida – The United States Women’s National Team’s quest to defend their title at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup came to an end on Sunday evening at the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium in Melbourne, Australia against Sweden, in a 5-4 defeat in penalty kicks after a 0-0 draw.
This is the first time that the USWNT have been eliminated from a Women’s World Cup in the Round of 16, ending their journey to defend their title and win their fifth star.
The USWNT enjoyed a bright start, having possession of the ball for most of the first 45 minutes, attacking Sweden from various areas.
FW Trinity Rodman created opportunities within the first minutes of the match, having a very clear one in the 18’, but Sweden GK Zecira Musovic denied her the goal.
The USWNT kept the momentum going, as captain Lindsey Horan tried to imitate what she did in the group stage, trying a header off a corner kick in the 34’, only to see the ball hit the crossbar.
Musovic was the star of the match for the Europeans, stopping all of the USWNT chances. One of the most impressive stops happened in the 54’, Horan again having the decisive shot in the area after a great collective play, trying to send the ball to the back of the net with one touch, but Musovic came up big again.
It was still scoreless after 90 minutes, so the game went to extra time, the first time in this Women’s World Cup that an extra period was required. Even though both teams tried to break the deadlock, it was a penalty shootout that decided the winner.
After a U.S. miss in the seventh round, a decisive last penalty was taken by Sweden’s MF Lina Hurtig. Initially it looked like U.S. GK Alyssa Naeher had stopped Hurtig’s attempt, but a VAR check revealed that the ball had crossed the line, giving Sweden the victory.