USA vs. Sweden, 2015 World Cup: USWNT struggle, but get their result

There are still a lot of issues that the U.S. needs to work out before they get to that stage, but one might have been solved against Sweden. Becky Sauerbrunn was the only member of the American defense who looked great against Australia, but the entire back four played well against Sweden. The Swedes could have done a bit more to put the USWNT defense under pressure, but the back four’s performance, as a unit, had just as much to do with Sweden’s lack of chances. Julie Johnston, in particular, was significantly improved from the first game and was probably the woman of the match for the United States.

Jill Ellis is also trying to fix the team’s other problems, even if she hasn’t figured out exactly how to do it yet. She gave Morgan Brian a shot on the wing for this match, moved Christen Press up top and brought on Amy Rodriguez as her first sub. The midfield is still a mess, and everyone’s looking to play a direct ball into the box instead of passing their way to a quality chance, but Ellis recognizing that there is a problem with the attack and trying things is an improvement.

Both teams walk away disappointed after this match, with the United States and Sweden being forced to settle for a 0-0 draw. The match was combative at times and frantic at others, but neither side could get quite everything together in attack to create a goal.

The match got off to a frantic start, with both the United States and Sweden eager to put shaky first matches behind them. Both teams wanted to snag an early goal to put their opponents on the back heel, an idea that showed through with lots of long balls played over the top, but neither team managed to succeed in that goal.

The United States and Sweden were both tested in their opening games, but still appear to be favorites to finish first and second. Friday’s game between the two should tell us a lot about whether or not they have the credentials to challenge for World Cup 2015.

Match Date/Time: Friday, 8 p.m. ET, 7 p.m. local

Neither of these teams quite lived up to expectations in their first matches in this Women’s World Cup. The difference is that one of them found a way to overcome that shortfall and win anyways, while the other had to suffer through an opening round draw. Thanks to that hard-fought win, the United States have a chance to clinch a spot in the knockout rounds if they can get another three points in this match, while Sweden will be scrambling to bounce back with a win and get back on-track for their own title dreams.

Sweden had pounced on two awful mistakes from an otherwise organized Nigeria in their match to take a 2-0 lead in the first half, then conceded three second-half goals to wind up with a 3-3 draw. They looked a step off from their normal quality all match long, a trait shared by the United States against Australia. The U.S. women were often sloppy and disjointed, relying on incredible performances from Megan Rapinoe and Becky Sauerbrunn to stay in the match before Australia wore down late and gave them the opening they needed to win.