Soccer World Cup: U.S. women's team loses in quarterfinals

Sweden eliminated the United States women's national soccer team in the quarterfinals during a penalty shootout (0-0, 5 shots against 4). In a penalty shootout that had some surprising turns, Sweden eliminated the two-time champion United States from Sunday's women's World Cup in Melbourne, Australia, following a scoreless draw and a 5–4 final. Junior Sophia Smith failed to score for the United States women's qualifying squad on their fifth try, after superstar Megan Rapinoe's unsuccessful effort. A video-assisted review (VAR) confirmed that the ball had crossed the line two rounds later, and Lina Hurtig forfeited the victory she had chosen. The ball was almost missed by American goalie Alyssa Naeher, who had scored extremely infrequently prior and was the sixth-leading scorer. Naeher was pinpoint in the box.

If this absurd situation plays out, the United States national team will surely be eliminated

Based on this absurd scenario, the U.S. national team will lose all eight of its competitions so far, confirming that its opponents have advanced while it has failed. In the face of fiercely growing rivalry, the top nation in the global rankings was unable to accomplish the unheard-of treble, which no team—women's or men's combined—has ever accomplished. All the latest and greatest top-tier sports news from around the globe, straight from the Livescore website, Madrid. Surprisingly, after a dismal group stage, the Americans had their best performance of the tournament against Sweden, winning all three matches. Unfortunately, Vlatko Andonovski's youth-oriented team was unable to match the consistency and efficiency of the more seasoned opponent due to the retirements and injuries that plagued the 2015 and 2019 title-winning generations.

Extremely focused are the defending Olympic vice champions

Aspiring Sweden, ranked third in the world, will face off against Japan in Friday's Auckland match for a spot in the semifinals. As a result of their rock-solid defense—embodied by goalkeeper Zekira Musovic, who had a fantastic game, making eleven saves—the defending Olympic vice champions depend on their consistent play. A stunning attempt by Lindsey Horan in the 53rd minute and a header by Alex Morgan in the 89th minute were both saved by the Chelsea star, who was instrumental in keeping her teammates alive in front of goal. Her subsequent overtime victories against Morgan (96th) and Lynn Williams (101st) were also triumphs. As they stood up on the field, the Americans endured the worst possible scenario—the relentless criticism they had endured leading up to the match. Horan attempted to trick Musovic with a header from a corner kick in the 34th minute, but his effort struck the crossbar. In these situations, the Americans' arrogance and inefficiency were on full display, as they had been throughout the tournament. Star scorers Alex Morgan and Sophia Smith, who were named the best player in the US championship last season, were unable to connect with the target as predicted, allowing the Swedes to capitalize on a late break. In the end, Team USA fell to Japan on penalties, the same way they lost to Japan in the championship final in 2011.

Attendance at the Women's World Cup reaches record high

This year's Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand has already beaten the previous record set in 2015 in Canada, according to FIFA, who announced the news on Sunday. An estimated 1,339,331 fans had already made their way through the stadium turnstiles before the United States and Sweden play in Melbourne's 1/8 final, according to the governing body of international soccer. Last year's record was 1,353,506 in Canada in 2015, but this Sunday's number of 27,706 more spectators in Melbourne will break that.