MELBOURNE, Australia — The United States played its best game of this Women’s World Cup.
It wasn’t good enough to keep the Americans, the two-time reigning champions of the quadrennial extravaganza for women’s soccer, from being eliminated in the round of 16.
Their bid to win an unprecedented third consecutive title ended Sunday, on penalty kicks and in the first round of the tournament’s knockout phase. It is the earliest exit in Women’s World Cup history for the United States, which owns a record four championships overall after winning titles in China (1991), at home (1999), in Canada (2015) and in France (2019).
This is the ninth edition of the event, and the Americans had never finished worse than third (three times). They were runners-up in 2011.
Megan Rapinoe, Sophia Smith and Kelley O’Hara missed with kicks from the penalty spot for the U.S. before Sweden’s Lina Hurtig converted to clinch the shootout victory, 5-4, knocking the Americans out of the World Cup after a scoreless draw in regulation and extra time.
The U.S. controlled the shootout until the trio of misses, with Rapinoe and Smith going over the crossbar and O’Hara’s shot bouncing off the right post.
“I mean, this is like a sick joke. For me personally, this is like dark comedy that I missed a penalty,” Rapinoe said as she blinked back tears. “This is the balance to the beautiful side of the game. I think it can be cruel.”
U.S. goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher fruitlessly argued she had saved Hurtig’s attempt, which didn’t touch the ground inside the goal as she made the initial stop and then knocked the rebound back into the field, but the aerial shot was ruled over the line by video assistant referee. The stadium played Abba’s “Dancing Queen” in the stadium as the Swedes celebrated and the U.S. players sobbed.
“We just lost the World Cup by a millimeter. That’s tough,” said Naeher, who converted her own penalty kick in the shootout. “I am proud of the fight of the team. We knew we hadn’t done our best in the group stage, and we wanted a complete team performance, and the team came out and played great.”
She praised Sweden goalkeeper Zecira Musovic, who had 11 saves to deny the U.S. a spot in the quarterfinals.
“We didn’t put anything in the back of the net,” said Julie Ertz, sobbing. “The penalties were tough. It’s just emotional because it’s probably my last game ever. It’s just tough. It obviously sucks. Penalties are the worst.”
The loss was not a complete shock, based on the Americans’ listless play through their first three matches at this year’s Women’s World Cup to finish runners-up to the Netherlands in their four-team group. The sting for the U.S. team and its fans came from having the best performance end with a shootout loss.
“I am proud of the women on the field,” U.S. coach Vlatko Andonovski said. “I know we were criticized for the way we played, and for different moments in the group stage. I think we came out today and showed the grit, the resilience, the fight. The bravery showed we did everything we could to win the game. And, unfortunately, soccer can be cruel sometimes.”
It was the fourth time the Americans went to extra time at the World Cup. All three previous matches went to penalties, including the 2011 final won by Japan. The U.S. won on penalties in a 2011 quarterfinal match against Brazil, as well as in the 1999 final against China at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
Sweden knocked the U.S. out of the 2016 Olympics in the quarterfinals on penalties.
The Swedes go on to the quarterfinals and will face Japan, which beat Norway 3-1 on Saturday night.
Sweden has never won a major global tournament title in women’s soccer. The closest the team has come is as runner-up at the 2003 Women’s World Cup. The Swedes placed third in the 1999, 2011 and 2019 editions, and they won silver medals at the last two Olympics.
The Americans’ loss ended the international career of Rapinoe, who was honored as the winner of the Golden Boot (leading scorer) and Golden Ball (best player) at the 2019 Women’s World Cup. She announced her impending retirement shortly before this year’s edition, and she took on a smaller role in her final tournament, entering as a substitute in the team’s first and third games of group play and going on in extra time Sunday.
In her final few minutes of action, she failed to control a ball played in deep, whiffed on a rebound, hit the side of the net with a corner kick and then missed the penalty that would have put her team on the verge of victory.
“Just devastated. It feels like a bad dream,” U.S. co-captain Alex Morgan said. “The team put everything out there tonight. I feel like we dominated, but it doesn’t matter. We’re going home, and it’s the highs and lows of the sport of soccer. So, yeah, it doesn’t feel great.”
The Americans struggled through group play with just four goals in three matches. They were nearly eliminated Tuesday by first-timers Portugal but eked out a 0-0 draw to fall to second in their group for just the second time at a Women’s World Cup.
The Americans looked far better against Sweden, dominating possession and outshooting the Swedes 5-1 in the first half. Co-captain Lindsey Horan’s first-half header hit the crossbar and a second-half blast was saved by Musovic, who had six saves in regulation.
“I had a really good feeling before the game,” Sweden’s keeper said. “Once again, I’m extremely proud of the girls. Many people out there didn’t think that (winning) was possible.”
Sweden won all three of its group games, including a 5-0 rout of Italy in its final group match. Coach Peter Gerhardsson made nine lineup changes for that match, resting his starters in anticipation of facing the U.S.
“They will come back for sure, they have so much quality on their team,” Sweden midfielder Kosovare Asllani said of the Americans. “This defeat will not take them down. I expect them to be ready for the next World Cup.”