USA Fail to Shake off Bogey Team as Sweden Reach Olympics Final 4
On Friday night, the quest for a gold medal at the Rio Olympics was blown wide open in the women's football tournament as Sweden, against all the odds, knocked the USA out via a dramatic penalty shootout.
The game followed the predicted pattern, with Sweden trying to defend deep and the USA piling on the pressure. One problem for Jill Ellis' game plan—the Americans struggled to break down the Scandinavian wall.
Just like Ellis predicted, Sweden parked the bus, but they did it extremely well. The USA came out the blocks quickly, but they failed to truly trouble Hedvig Lindahl's goal in the early stages.
@KiersTheivam Good tactics and defense from SWE, poor tactics from USA (Pinoe coming on and off was absurd). Did think USA were going to win
— Linda Eriksson (@Wosozone_Linda) August 12, 2016
Before the half-hour mark, the USA nearly found a way through when Alex Morgan was released inside the box. The striker went around Lindahl, tried to cross for Carli Lloyd, but the Chelsea 'keeper reacted well and made a great recovery save.
Sweden survived the onslaught until the break, frustrating the USA and, ultimately, executing their game plan perfectly.
The US were playing the ball down the wing, with Tobin Heath looking lively down the right-hand side. Morgan was kept mostly quiet, and any time Mallory Pugh or Lloyd had sights at goal, it was from distance and the Swedes crowded them out quickly.
It was all a bit predictable from both sides, but Pia Sundhage would have been delighted with the way her side kept their shape and failed to panic under the pressure.
Their determination paid off just after the hour mark. Substitute Stina Blackstenius—on for the injured Fridolina Rolfo—broke away through the middle, chasing a superb pass from Lisa Dahlkvist. She was left one-on-one against Hope Solo and fired the ball low into the far corner.
A snatch-and-grab goal but exactly the situation that Sundhage was trying to create. Sweden had sucked the US on to them and hit with the perfect counter punch.
With 12 minutes to go, the Americans' pressure finally paid off when Morgan managed to snatch an equaliser. Heath's ball over the top was unfortunately cushioned by the head of Jessica Samuelsson, and the Orlando Pride striker pounced to sweep the ball low past Lindahl.
The game would go into extra time, and late in the second period, it would spark back into life. Lloyd had a goal disallowed for the US, which the forward was later told was for offside—it wasn’t—then Sweden went back up the other end of the pitch and Lotta Schelin also found the back of the net.
However, and with replays showing the decision was incorrect, the forward was flagged offside and the game had to be settled on penalties. It was the first time a women's Olympic football fixture would be decided from the spot.
Morgan missed the very first kick, saved well by Lindahl. The shootout was levelled when Hope Solo guessed the right way to catch Linda Sembrant's kick, but that would be the last reason the US had to cheer.
Substitute Christian Press fired her penalty over the crossbar, and then, despite the attempts of Solo to distract Dahlkvist, the PSG midfielder sent the 'keeper the wrong way and fired Sweden into the semi-finals.
It is the first time in the history of women's football in the Olympic Games that the USA won't win a medal, and it didn't go down well with some of the players, especially Solo.
"I’m very proud of this team. But I also think we played a bunch of cowards," the goalkeeper told the media after the game, via Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated.
"The best team did not win today. I strongly, firmly believe that. I think you saw American heart. You saw us give everything we had today."
When questioned as to why she thought the Swedes were cowards, Solo didn't reign in her thoughts one bit:
Sweden dropped off, they didn’t want to open play. They didn’t want to pass the ball. They didn’t want to play great soccer. It was a combative game, a physical game. Exactly what they wanted and exactly what their game plan was.
This is a debate that runs and runs whenever a team manages to beat a favourite while not playing free-flowing football.
Not every team can play the same way, and Sundhage knows exactly the level of talent the US is blessed with so she picked a game plan that would frustrate them and ultimately get the best out of her own team. It worked, you have to commend the Swedes for executing it perfectly, and it comes across as nothing but sour grapes from the controversial goalkeeper.
When the Swedish coach was told of what Solo had said, Sundhage replied, via Wahl: "It’s O.K. to be a coward if you win."
Emotions are always high after a game, especially when you lose the chance of winning an Olympics medal, but that doesn't excuse what Solo said. The old cliche—"if you don't have anything good to say, don't say anything at all"—would have worked perfectly in this situation.
You are always allowed to admit your disappointment, but talk about your own performances, not negatively about the team that has just eliminated you. It's never going to come across in a good way.
Sweden will take on Brazil in the semi-final, with the hosts winning their own dramatic penalty shootout against Australia.
The game finished goalless after 120 minutes, and the two teams couldn’t be prised apart. Amazingly, superstar Marta was the first one to blink, missing her penalty.
BBC News - Brazil's new football hero: Marta not Neymar https://t.co/7ne23ApMOx
— Izzy (@izzywsu) August 12, 2016
Steph Catley had the chance to fire the Matildas into the semis, but Brazil goalkeeper Barbara broke their hearts, saving the game-winning kick, then doing the same to Alanna Kennedy's shot, ensuring the host nation made it through to the final four.
In the other semi-final, we have a repeat of the Group F clash between Canada and Germany to look forward to. Silvia Neid’s team were less than impressive, taking until the 77th minute to break down a China team that only managed one shot in the first half.
Wang Shanshan had been given a red card, picking up her second yellow after an hour—she was only on the pitch for nine minutes—making China’s task even harder.
Melanie Behringer’s long-range strike would be enough in the end, although there was a huge scare at the death when Wang Shuang won a penalty. With the chance to take the game to extra time, the forward could only watch as her spot-kick rebounded off the right-hand post.
Before the tournament, Canada beating France would have been a huge shock, but the way John Herdman’s team have been playing in Brazil, they were full of confidence before the quarter-final.
Les Bleues controlled the game and dominated possession, but they failed to really trouble Stephanie Labbe and were made to pay for that in the second half.
An excellent piece of skill from the very impressive Janine Beckie opened up a gap in the French defence, and her lobbed cross to the back post was finished brilliantly by Sophie Schmidt.
If Sweden are the USA’s bogey team, Canada are becoming the same for France. They beat the European side in the bronze-medal match at the London Olympics; now they have emerged victorious again and you wouldn’t bet against them bettering that achievement this time around.
