Stunner in soccer: US drops 1st match
No. 1 women see long unbeaten streak end vs. nemesis Sweden
Sweden didn’t have to bunker down on defense against the Americans this time.
Stina Blackstenius scored a pair of goals and the Swedes stunned the United States at the Olympics with a 3-0 victory Wednesday in the women’s soccer tournament.
The Americans, ranked No. 1 in the world and the favorites to win gold in Tokyo, were riding a 44-match unbeaten streak. But Sweden, ranked No. 5, has been the U.S. team’s nemesis of sorts in recent years. The Swedes bounced the Americans from the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games in the quarterfinals, the earliest U.S. Olympic exit ever, by making a defensive stand.
This April, Sweden played the U.S. to a 1-1 draw in Stockholm, which snapped a winning streak dating back to January 2019 when the Americans lost to France in the run-up to the World Cup. It was the U.S. team’s only draw this year.
“Did we expect this result tonight? No,” said U.S. forward Megan Rapinoe, who came on as a substitute in the 64th minute with the score 2-0. “It’s frustrating, and it’s frustrating that it’s Sweden. They found a lot of space on us. I don’t even know how many goals we have given up this whole year. I don’t remember the last time we gave up a goal. So to give up three is not great.”
Sweden’s offense deserved all the credit. Blackstenius’ header into the far corner off a cross from Sofia Jakobsson in the 26th minute gave the team a first-half lead.
The U.S., which came out stale, had its best chance of the opening half in the final moments when Rose Lavelle’s shot hit the post. Coach Vlatko Andonovski made changes for the second half, subbing in Carli Lloyd for Alex Morgan and Julie Ertz for Sam Mewis.
But Blackstenius scored again in the 54th minute. Lina Hurtig added the final goal in the 72nd.
The loss was the first for the U.S. under Andonovski, who took over when former coach Jill Ellis stepped down following the team’s World Cup victory in France.
Lavine clears protocols: USA Basketball expects to have its full 12-man roster available for Sunday’s matchup against France, the first game for both teams in Tokyo.
Zach Lavine has been cleared to exit the health and safety protocols that stemmed from a coronavirus testing-related issue, will fly to Japan and rejoin the team Thursday.
And the plan is that the three players from the NBA Finals — Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday from the newly-crowned champion Bucks and Devin Booker from the Suns — will be in place Saturday.
Bird, Alvarez to carry U.S. flag: Four-time Olympic women’s basketball gold medalist Sue Bird and baseball player Eddy Alvarez were chosen as U.S. flag bearers for the opening ceremony Friday night.
Alvarez, who won a silver medal in speedskating at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, and Bird were chosen by a vote of fellow U.S. athletes.
Bird is the second U.S. women’s basketball player to carry the flag.
Alvarez becomes the first baseball player to carry the flag for the U.S. The sport returned to the Games at the request of Japan after being absent from the previous two Olympics.
Also: Cat Osterman dominated as the U.S. began its quest to regain the softball gold medal, 13 years after she lost the championship game, pitching one-hit ball over six innings and striking out nine to beat Italy 2-0 in Fukushima. Michelle Moultrie singled in a run in the fourth for the top-ranked U.S., which lost the title to Japan 3-1 at the 2008 Beijing Games. Softball wasn’t included in the 2012 and 2016 Games. Osterman, a 38-year-old left-hander and the last remaining player from the 2004 gold medalists, improved to 6-1 in Olympic play . ... Top-ranked women’s skeet shooter Amber Hill tested positive for COVID-19 at home in Britain and will miss the Games. ... As expected, Brisbane was awarded the 2032 Summer Games. Australia’s third-largest city was given exclusive negotiation rights to bid for the Games. Cities in Germany, Qatar and Hungary, among others, also submitted bids for 2032.