The last time the two teams met in the Olympics was at the 1996 Atlanta Games.
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Sweden’s players celebrate after a quarter-final match of the women’s Olympic football tournament between the United States and Sweden in Brasilia Friday Aug. 12, 2016. The wastefulness by the United States finally caught up to them as Sweden stunned everyone in the stadium by taking the lead.
This was former Peninsula High School standout Whitney Engen first Olympics. She had coached the USA team through the 2012 Olympics, knew that it was faster and generally more talented than her group and that it would be best for her players to defend, be patient and look for a chance to counterattack.
The U.S has won a record 12 consecutive games in Olympic play, with its last loss coming to Norway to open the 2008 Olympics.
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With Anthony Ervin winning the men’s 50 freestyle and Maya DiRado taking gold in the women’s 200 backstroke, the Americans would have had a clean sweep were it not for the silver by Phelps, the most decorated Olympian in history.
“The best team did not win today”, she said.
“We played a creative game”, she told reporters. They didn’t want to pass the ball around. She’s also courted near-constant controversy, from her arrest in 2014 following a brawl involving her nephew and sister to her suspension after her husband was charged with DUI while driving a national team van to … oh, we’ve been over this all before. The loss is the first for the Americans before a semifinal in a major competition ever.
Even before the Olympics began, Solo had alienated herself from the Brazilian people by posting photos of herself wearing an elaborate mosquito mask and also a photo with dozens of bottles and cans of insect repellant with the caption #zikaproof #roadtoRio. “They didn’t want to play great soccer”. We showed a lot of heart.
It has been quite a memorable Olympics for Hope Solo – for all the wrong reasons.
A jolt was needed and United States coach Jill Ellis substituted Crystal Dunn in for Allie Long and she made an immediate impact, a fine cross into the Swedish box, but no one was there to latch onto it, Sweden less than 20 minutes from a memorable upset. “Zika!” almost every time she touched the ball in the opening match against New Zealand.
Seven minutes later, Dunn again caused havoc, getting into the Sweden box, finding Lloyd, but her shot was deflected.
“They executed her game plan very well”. Well, usually – especially with the Americans – a good team is when they’re winning. “And the fact that there were only two goals and it went to penalty kicks said something about our defending”. And that’s how Sweden scored first-on an well-played counterattack in the 61st minute.
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Day 7 of the Rio Games features a heavy slate of medal action in swimming, track and field, track cycling, fencing, judo and more. Read on to find out why her “cowards” comment gets even worse. Finally, the Americans would respond, a ball in the box intended for Dunn deflects off of a Swedish defender and finds Alex Morgan, who beats Lindahl to tie the game. She was first up for the Americans, only to see her shot saved by Lindahl. “They don’t have as quality of players as the American team does or as Brazil does, so they have to play a way that’s going to give them hope to beat a team like Brazil or the United States of America”.
