Sweden v USA

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Sweden v USA

Team USA Ease Past Sweden

by Jeremy Ruane

Team USA clinched top spot in their group at the FIFA Women's World Cup Finals on June 20, easing past fellow qualifiers Sweden 2-0 in front of 22,418 fans at Stade Oceane in Le Havre to maintain their perfect record in the competition to date.

It took just 160 seconds for the reigning champions to open the scoring. Megan Rapinoe's corner to the near post was flicked on by Becky Sauerbrunn for Lindsey Horan, charging through the middle, to tap in from close range.

Four minutes later, Crystal Dunn's ball forward, targeting Alex Morgan, was headed clear by Hedvig Lindahl, who charged out of her penalty area to prevent the co-leader in the Golden Boot race from having the chance to add to her tally.

The USA continued to threaten, with Rose Lavelle next to instigate a move, pouncing on a loose ball to bring Rapinoe into play. Her cross sought out Morgan, but Lindahl and the retreating Amanda Ilestedt managed to avert the danger, despite briefly getting their wires crossed.

After Lindahl smothered a Samantha Mewis twenty yarder, Sweden mustered their first threat on goal half-way through the first half. Sofia Jakobsson led the charge with Stina Blackstenius ahead of her. But Jakobsson opted to send Kosovare Asllani through the inside right channel, from where she shot straight at Alyssa Naeher.

In response, the USA opted to dominate possession, Rapinoe's rattling of the side-netting the only attempt of note until Tobin Heath squandered a good opportunity by going solo when Morgan and Rapinoe were better placed to exploit the opening.

Jakobsson sent a shot sizzling over the bar five minutes before half-time, to which Heath responded by picking out Lavelle, whose run across field culminated in Abby Dahlkemper spreading play wide to Rapinoe. Her cross picked out Lavelle, who had continued her run towards goal, but Linda Sembrandt blocked her shot to safety.

A solid tackle by Dunn thwarted Jakobsson's progress down the right as the half-time whistle approached, but when the pair crossed paths again in the dying seconds of the half, the Swedish player won out, only to see her cross pawed to safety by Naeher as Blackstenius raced in looking to head home the equaliser.

The USA attacked straight from the kick-off, with Kelley O'Hara sending the ball down the line to Heath, who outmuscled her marker before presenting Lavelle with a shooting chance which she directed wide of the target.

Four minutes later, the title-holders doubled their lead. Rapinoe's cross for half-time substitute Carli Lloyd, who began her run to meet it from an offside position, was hooked clear by Sembrandt, the defender unaware of Lloyd's location in relation to herself.

But the clearance landed at the feet of Heath, whose trademark shuffle had given Jonna Andersson plenty of headaches to this point in the match. This time, Heath threw in a stepover and unleashed a shot which deflected off the defender and flew over Lindahl into the far side of the net.

2-0, although it shouldn't have been. A Video Assistant Referee check confirmed the offside situation, and that Lloyd was in the active area of play, else Sembrandt wouldn't have hooked the ball away, surely. Russian referee Anastasia Pustovoytova had a look at the footage, and awarded the goal …

Frankly, it killed the game as a contest, because with both teams already through to the next round, there was no need for either of them to bust a boiler and pick up any unnecessary injuries - although the nature of some of the challenges which went in suggested a few of the players had some scores to settle.

Sweden were keen to halve the deficit, with Blackstenius heading Olivia Schough's free-kick over the bar in the 55th minute before Naeher blocked another effort from the striker to safety sixty seconds later.

Substitute Fridolina Rolfo then got the better of O'Hara before whipping in a cross which skimmed the crossbar, before an Asllani free-kick whipped in to the far post found Nathalie Bjorn flying in to meet it, just failing in her quest to make contact with the ball and head home.

Five minutes from time at the other end of the park, substitute Mallory Pugh just failed to make the most of a Heath corner, before Lindahl made a fine save in a one-on-one with Lloyd as the game entered stoppage time, as Mewis played her captain in on goal.

Sweden threatened one more time, with Rolfo and Blackstenius combining with late substitute Lina Hurtig, who looked to take the ball round Naeher, only for the 'keeper to paw the ball away from the newcomer and confirm her third clean sheet of the Finals.

The USA will take on Spain in the next round, while Sweden, as group runners-up, tackle Canada in what should be a tough battle between two nations which intend to go deep into the tournament which is France 2019.

Team USA: Naeher; O'Hara (booked, 59), Dahlkemper, Sauerbrunn, Dunn; Mewis, Lavelle (Press, 63), Horan; Heath, Morgan (Lloyd, 46), Rapinoe (Pugh, 83)

Sweden: Lindahl; Bjorn, Ilestedt, Sembrant, Andersson; Jakobsson (booked, 87), Zigiotti, Asllani (Hurtig, 79), Seger (Glas, 63), Schough (Rolfo, 57); Blackstenius

Referee: Anastasia Pustovoytova (Russia)

Group Matches