USWNT faces familiar foe in quest to avoid early World Cup exit

Like magnets, the U.S. Women’s National Team and Sweden seemingly are always connected on the biggest stage.

Longtime rivals, the two sides will write the latest chapter of the most-played matchup in Women’s World Cup history when they meet for the seventh time in the tournament on Sunday.

“We always play Sweden in every major tournament,” American forward Alex Morgan told reporters earlier this week. “Probably every time since I’ve been on this team. So, we know them very well. We know their strengths.”

But this time, the USWNT and Sweden will enter the storied matchup on different trajectories.

Two-time defending World Cup champions, the USWNT have been largely uninspiring this entire tournament. The Americans narrowly — or perhaps fortunately — advanced to the knockout round as Group E runners-up, the width of the right post saving them from elimination.

After an opening 3-0 win over low-ranked Vietnam, the USWNT slogged through back-to-back draws to the Netherlands and Portugal, respectively, scoring just one goal in the process.

A shot by Portugal’s Ana Capeta in stoppage time had USWNT goalie Alyssa Naeher beat, but it clanked off the post to keep the Americans alive.

Usually one of the most lethal attacks in the tournament, the USWNT has struggled to create concrete goal-scoring chances.

The team’s four goals in the group stage were a dramatic decline from the 18 they scored four years ago.

Sweden, on the other hand, mostly cruised through the group stage. They won all three games comfortably, scoring nine goals and conceding just one. It’s that one goal allowed that’s likely most notable.

Amid deep attacking struggles, the USWNT must now go through probably the best defense in the world.

“I think there’s things we can do better, for sure, things we could do better from the last couple of games. But I’m not going to dwell on it. It is what it is,” said forward Megan Rapinoe, who came on as a substitute against Portugal. “We need to play better, and we know that. We need to be a little bit more fluid, and I think just a little bit more connected offensively.”

The USWNT’s struggles have been a relatively new experience for the team, which has dominated the world stage for years.

Beyond a new experience, there has been newfound drama around the team.

Carli Lloyd, former star midfielder now serving as an analyst for Fox Sports’ coverage of the World Cup, ripped the team’s effort following the draw against Portugal.

Lloyd, who won two World Cups with the U.S., called the team’s players — some of them her former teammates — “uninspiring” and took issue with them dancing and laughing with fans after the match despite their mixed results.

“I have never witnessed something like that,” Lloyd said on the broadcast. “There’s a difference between being respectful of the fans and saying hello to your family, but to be dancing, to be smiling?”

The comments didn’t sit well with the USWNT.

For a team that certainly didn’t need any outside distractions, they now have to try to ignore what they have called “outside noise.”

“It’s kind of frustrating for me to hear, especially knowing this team and knowing how much we put into every single game, how much preparation we put into every single game, seeing our trainings, seeing how hard we work,” co-captain Lindsey Horan, who was also teammates with Lloyd, told reporters this week.

For the most part, the USWNT has had the upper hand in the rivalry with Sweden.

The Americans won the most recent World Cup matchup with Sweden in 2019 and own a 4-1-1 all-time World Cup record in the rivalry.

The two sides first met in the group stage in the 1991 World Cup and have met at every World Cup since 2003.

But this will be the first time they will clash in the knockout round.

Can its biggest rival bring out the best of the USWNT? History depends on it.

“I know this team, and I know what we’re capable of,” Morgan said. “Just because it hasn’t clicked every moment on the field and we’re not putting goals in the back of the net doesn’t mean that these aren’t the right players for the job. The confidence is there. Now, we just have to prove it out on the field.”