USA, the current champions, have crashed out of the World Cup on penalties in front of more than 27,000 fans in Melbourne. Lina Hurtig’s spot-kick sent Sweden to the quarter-finals, helped significantly by the brilliance of Zecira Musovic between the sticks. It is the first time in the tournament’s history that the USA have been eliminated at this early a stage.
Vlatko Andonovski’s side had attracted widespread criticism in the days leading up to this encounter. Uncharacteristically lacklustre performances against the Netherlands and Portugal had led to questions being raised about the character of the team and the manager’s own tactical capabilities. In the chill of Melbourne, they looked much improved but could not make their control of the game count, going out after the match finished 0-0 after extra time.
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