Final, 1-1 (Sweden wins penalty-kick shootout 4-3): Goliath is going home.
Team USA is out of the women’s soccer tournament at the 2016 Rio Olympics after losing to Sweden in the penalty-kick shootout in the quarterfinals. USA had won the three previous gold medals, but its streaks of Olympic victories and semifinal appearances ends in heartbreak.
Sweden advances to the Olympic semifinals for the first time since 2004.
That’s all for now, and thanks for joining us. Let’s discuss this one on Twitter @NESNsoccer and Facebook. Be sure to keep an eye out for some news, fan reactions, analysis and opinion coming up on NESN.com/soccer.
Postgame analysis of USA-Sweden >>
Penalty kicks: Dahlkvist scores. Sweden wins on penalty kicks, knocking Team USA out of the tournament.
Lisa Dahlkvist is Sweden’s shooter. Solo is changing her gloves in an obvious bid to psych out the Sweden shooter.
Press misses over the bar. Sweden can win by converting its next shot.
Christen Press comes to the spot.
Caroline Seger scores for Sweden. 3-3 after four rounds.
Brian scores.
Brian is USA’s fourth shooter.
Solo saves Sembrant’s shot. The shootout is tied 2-2 after three rounds.
Linda Sembrant steps up for Sweden.
Lloyd scores.
Lloyd takes USA’s third penalty.
Asllani scores. 2-1 Sweden after two rounds.
Kosovare Asllani takes Sweden’s second penalty.
Horan rolls her shot home.
Horan is USA’s second shooter.
Schelin converts Sweden’s first penalty. 1-0 Sweden after one round.
Lindahl saves Morgan’s shot.
USA shoots first, and Morgan steps up.
There’s a first time for everything.
End of extra time, 1-1: Penalty kicks, here we come.
120th minute, 1-1: There will be two minutes of added time in the second period of extra time.
120th minute, 1-1: Morgan runs onto a pass in the Sweden penalty area but hits the side netting.
120th minute, 1-1: Sweden makes its final substitution.
Jessica Samuelsson exits. Emma Berglund enters, making a little history in the process.
116th minute, 1-1: Schelin scores. No, she’s judged to be offside. Bad call. That wasn’t even close.
115th minute, 1-1: Lloyd thinks she has scored the certain winner, but the referee’s assistant judges rules that the USA attacker fouled a Sweden defender.
113th minute, 1-1: Pugh leaves the game with an apparent injury. Lindsey Horan replaces her in the USA attack.
110th minute, 1-1: The referee shows Lloyd a yellow card. Not sure for what reason.
106th minute, 1-1: The second period of extra time is under way.
Halftime of extra time: That’s the end of the first period of extra time.
The teams will play 15 more minutes. Each side has one substitution remaining.
105th minute, 1-1: We’re almost at the break in extra time.
The teams are obviously exhausted, leading to heavy touches and mistakes all over the field.
101st minute, 1-1: Press finds Morgan’s run inside Sweden’s penalty area with a fine pass, but Lindahl saves the U.S. forward’s shot.
100th minute, 1-1: Christen Press replaces Rapinoe, as USA substitutes one sub for another.
99th minute, 1-1: Heath loses the ball in midfield, and Sweden breaks forward on the counter. The sequence ends with Blackstenius being ruled offside.
96th minute, 1-1: USA has controlled possession so far in extra time, but Sweden comfortably defense with numbers behind the ball.
91st minute, 1-1: The first period of extra time is under way.
Sweden made a substitution during the break. Sofia Jakobsson exited. Olivia Schough entered.
End of normal time, 1-1: 90 minutes have come and gone with no winner emerging.
The teams will play two 15-minute periods of extra time to determine the first semifinalist at the Rio Olympics.
How about that for a second half? Sweden sucker-punched USA on the counter-attack when Blackstenius scored just after the hour mark, but Morgan relieved 15 minutes of nervous hand-wringing by pouncing home the game-tying goal. USA pressed for the winner, but it wouldn’t come. Now, 30 more minutes beckon.
90th minute +2, 1-1: Heath fires a shot on Sweden’s goal, but Lindahl saves it comfortably.
90th minute, 1-1: There will be a minimum of three minutes of added time in the second half.
89th minute, 1-1: Rapinoe misses contact with Brian’s deft delivery by inches.
USA continues to apply pressure, as the end of normal time looms.
85th minute, 1-1: Another scramble in Sweden’s penalty area yields more chances for Team USA.
The sequence ends with Lindhal saving Heath’s shot.
84th minute, 1-1: Dunn surges forward and lays a pass of to Lloyd, who attempts to shoot but has her shot blocked. The loose ball falls to Pugh, but she shoots narrowly wide.
80th minute, 1-1: The drama has accumulated into something special, as the last 10 minutes of normal time promise to be nail-biting.
78th minute, 1-1: The referee shows Seger a yellow card.
77th minute, 1-1: Morgan gives Team USA a lifeline.
It comes off of Sweden’s defensive miscue, as a driven ball hit Jessica Samuelsson’s head and fell kindly to Morgan, who reacted quickly and slid the loose ball home.
72nd minute, 1-0 Sweden: Each team makes a substitution.
Magdalena Eriksson replaces Elin Rubensson for Sweden.
Megan Rapinoe replaces O’Hara for Team USA.
71st minute, 1-0 Sweden: Lloyd scuffs her shot wide after Pugh’s pressure on a defender created the chance inside Sweden’s penalty area.
65th minute, 1-0 Sweden: USA defender Kelley O’Hara shoots and misses high with a long-range shot.
64th minute, 1-0 Sweden: Allie Long exits, and Crystal Dunn enters in USA’s first substitution.
61st minute, 1-0 Sweden: Blackstenius gives Sweden a shock lead.
The goal comes via counter-attack. Johnston and Sauerbrunn were playing a high line and were beaten with speed and Blackstenius’ composed finish.
The number of chances teams create isn’t most important. It’s what they do with them.
57th minute, 0-0: Sweden forward Lotta Schelin commits a foul, and the referee finally shows a yellow card.
55th minute, 0-0: The game is becoming choppy, as Sweden repeatedly fouls USA attackers before they can launch counter-attacks in earnest. Curiously, the referee seems hesitant to give yellow cards.
51st minute, 0-0: USA lines up another free kick from 25 yards out, this time from the opposite side of field. Lloyd shoots powerfully over Sweden’s goal.
50th minute, 0-0: Lloyd shoots wide of the goal from a promising position after a (seemingly) botched free-kick routine. What a letdown that is.
46th minute, 0-0: The second half is under way.
Halftime, 0-0: That’s the end of the first half. It’s goal-less in Brasilia.
USA did just about everything it wanted to, except for scoring the all-important goal. Ellis and Co. might be disappointed having played well and dominating possession but failing to breach Sweden’s defense. Credit Lindhal for keeping the American’s off the scoreboard with timely saves.
45th minute, 0-0: There will be one minute of added time in the first half.
45th minute, 0-0: Lloyd receives Pugh’s pass inside Sweden’s penalty area and shoots, but Lindhal saves her effort.
It wouldn’t have counted, as the referee’s assistant ruled Lloyd offside.
40th minute, 0-0: With five minutes remaining in the first half, USA continues to maintain its possession advantage, but Sweden is coming out of its shell and launching a few forward raids of its own.
The crown seems to be backing the Swedes as the game progresses.
35th minute, 0-0: The score might be tied, but USA is in firm control of proceedings.
28th minute, 0-0: Sweden nearly scores an own goal after Mallory Pugh plays Morgan into the penalty area.
Morgan crosses into the goal-mouth for Lloyd. The ball deflects off Linda Sembrant’s knee, but Lindahl’s in the right spot to save it.
Having dominated possession so far, USA is threatening to open the scoring.
24th minute, 0-0: The sparse crowd on hand in Brasilia are giving USA goalkeeper Hope Solo the “Zika” treatment, as their counterparts in Manaus and Belo Horizonte have done during the Olympics.
19th minute, 0-0: Tobin Heath serves a corner kick into Sweden’s goal-mouth. Carli Lloyd prods it toward the goal from 6 yards out, but it goes over the crossbar.
Morgan looks like she’s in some pain after jostling with a defender on the play. The U.S. forward should be able to play on.
18th minute, 0-0: Rolfo can’t continue.
Sweden makes its first substitution, replacing Rolfo with Stina Blackstenius.
16th minute, 0-0: Sweden forward Fridolina Rolfo limps to the sidelines in apparent pain following an innocuous-looking encounter with Johnston near the halfway line.
Eighth minute, 0-0: The teams have endured both the heat and bumpy, overused turf and started the game quickly. USA had a couple of early chances, but Sweden earned a corner kick of its own.
USA has been less than assured when defending set pieces at the Olympics. Sweden will look to capitalize on those situations.
Third minute, 0-0: USA midfielder Morgan Brian heads a corner kick on goal, but Caroline Seger clears it off Sweden’s goal-line.
On the ensuing play, Alex Morgan turns and shoots on goal, but goalkeeper Hedvig Lindahl tips her effort over the bar.
Kickoff: The USA-Sweden Olympic women’s soccer quarterfinal is under way.
Julie Johnston is back in the USA starting lineup after missing the last two games due to a groin strain.
Pregame: Here are the starting lineups:
USA
Sweden
11:30 a.m. ET: Two of women’s international soccer’s ruling families are set to clash with a spot in the Olympic semifinals at stake.
The United States and Sweden meet Friday at Mane Garrincha Stadium in Brasilia in the quarterfinals of the women’s soccer tournament at the 2016 Summer Olympics. USA has won the last three Olympic gold medals and four out of five overall. Sweden has qualified for every Olympic women’s soccer tournament since play began in 1996.
The meeting pits Sweden head coach Pia Sundhage against the team she led to Olympic gold in 2008 and 2012. Current USA coach Jill Ellis worked as an assistant under Sundhage at those Games, but the two will match wits in Brazil’s capital city.
USA is the nominal favorite to win the game. The Americans topped Group G, winning two and drawing one of their three games. Sweden finished third in Group E, having gone 1-1-1 in the preliminary round.
But certain factors, namely travel and fatigue, could add to USA’s difficulties against Sweden. The teams played their most recent game Tuesday, but USA traveled 1,2000 miles from Manaus to Brasilia between games, while Sweden remained in Brazil’s capital city awaiting the Americans. The game will pose a huge test to USA’s powers of recovery.
USA-Sweden kicks off at noon. Join us right here for all the action from Brasilia.
Thumbnail photo via John David Mercer/USA TODAY Sports Images
