Unraveling Dynasty: Melbourne, Australia Despite the story, the U.S. women’s national team reigns. Sunday’s penalty shootout sa Sweden defeat the two-time champions.They should have won.
Months or years went into this conclusion. Mallory Swanson’s Apri injury started everything. Her just supported the squad. Catarin Macario’s ball talents amazed and horrified opponents last year, but she was gravely injured.
The USWNT showed problems at the Tokyo Olympics. Slow, old frailty open to attack. Despite their trophies and stardom, the world could see that the U.S women were not faultless. Injury, poor planning, player selection, and
a lousy captain plagued the USWNT for months. Thus, their long histor contributed to their dismal result in this abroad tournament. After 30 minutes of extra time ended in a draw, Lina Hurtig’s penalt kick gave Sweden a 5-4 penalty advantage, giving the USWNT a win Sophia Smith’s skied penalty and Kelley O’Hara’s post-blocked shot
didn’t cost them.
Coach Vlatko Andonovski called Megan Rapinoe’s aerial miss “penalt perfection,” but they lost They failed because they missed several opportunities like this one Co-captain Lindsey Horan said, “Everything went well except that last
piece, getting the ball into the back of the net. Scoring wins. Keeping the goal’s key hidden is everything.
However, the Americans played better against Sweden that fatefu night, showing a blend of intensity an resourcefulness needed fo leadership but previously unknown. Poor luck. In the 33rd minute Horan’s header hit the roof, and 20 minutes later, Sweden’s goalkeeper Zeira Muovi deflected his powerful volley. Muovi prevented Trinity
Rodman from scoring.]
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Same motif. Muovi won. Few goalkeepers made his saves. “I can’t think of any other reason why we’re out of the tournament,” Andonovski said. Despite a fluke, Sweden has defeated the U.S. in three of the las four major events. They eliminated the USWNT in the Rio Olympic quarterfinals and this World Cup round of 16.
“This is a special team,” Alex Morgan said. “It’s just awful that won’t be able to keep going, because this was a really great group.” Despite the solemnity, this will be one of sports’ biggest disasters.
Disappointment persists despite multiple illnesses and a young team Tom Brady and the New England Patriots lost the 2007 Super Bowl. Th 2017 Final Four halted UConn’s 111-game winning run USWNT reigned. Four World Cups and four Olympic golds. They lost the quarterfinals of the 2016 Olympics They lost before quarterfinals.
Rapinoe’s final World Cup disappoints. Her Golden Ball and Golden Boot came four years ago. Andonovski led the USWNT. His players liked him but injuries prevented team formation. The USWNT underperformed at the Tokyo Olympics and nearly lost the World Cup group stage. Both times, the team appeared weak and disconnected, more like a group of people trying to work together than a unified front.
The USWNT is considerably better than this. This is a very hard time.””We didn’t expect to be out at this time,”
Andonovski lamented. He focused on his comrades during this toug moment. “It’s selfish to think about myself, my future, and what I’l do when (the players) are going through this. Change them. That
preoccupies me.”
Reflection lasts. This World Cup showed sports are improvin significantly. Good teams no longer dominate.
Adjust or risk being demoted from top rank. Blending has bee difficult lately despite many young people improving. England an France outperformed the USWNT despite injuries.
These young men have learned a lot and will not repeat this. Swanso and Macario may recover before the Paris Olympics if fit The decade-long invincibility has ended. As expected, the USWNT World Cup winning streak stopped.