USA vs. Sweden 2016: Final score 1-1, USWNT eliminted from Olympic soccer on penalties

A heavily favored United States women’s national soccer team will not even medal at the Olympics. Sweden struck first in their quarterfinal, held on for penalties and won the penalty shootout, 4-3.

The Americans were well on top throughout the first half, but couldn’t turn that into goals, thanks to some solid defending and goalkeeping. Sweden didn’t manage any attempted shots in the first half, while the Americans forced Hedvig Lindahl into one save and had multiple shots blocked.

Pia Sundhage was forced to bring Stina Blackstenius on as a substitute in the first half due to an injury, but that required change ended up paying off big. In the 61st minute, off a turnover by Allie Long, Caroline Seger launched a through ball that split the American defense. Blackstenius held off Becky Sauerbrunn, sprinted into the box and placed a perfect shot past Hope Solo to put her team up, 1-0.

Jill Ellis reacted by bringing in Crystal Dunn for Long, then later Megan Rapinoe for Kelley O’Hara, switching to a back three. Those changes eventually paid off, though the American equalizer was a lucky one.

Dunn managed to get a slight touch on a long ball into the box with her head, redirecting it just enough to throw off Jessica Samuelsson. The ball bounced off her face and directly into the path of Alex Morgan, who finished from 6 yards.

The USWNT had multiple chances to win the game in regulation, with the best ones coming in the 83rd minute. Dunn set up Carli Lloyd for a shot in the box that was deflected inches wide, leading to a corner that set up two blocked shots and one from Tobin Heath that was brilliantly tipped aside by Lindahl. Sweden, meanwhile, managed no more shots after their goal and the game headed to extra time.

Rapinoe, who is coming off multiple injuries, didn’t look her sharpest after coming on. In the 99th minute, she was taken off, with Christen Press entering in her place. Eight minutes before penalties, Ellis took advantage of the new rule allowing a fourth sub in extra time, bringing on Lindsey Horan for Mallory Pugh.

Things got wild in the 115th minute, when both teams thought they had the winning goal. Lloyd headed in a cross from Dunn, but was called for a foul. On the other end, the same thing happened, and the call was much worse. Lotta Schelin scored, was called offside, but was clearly not. With no one able to score a goal that the officials were willing to count, the match headed to penalties.

Morgan missed the Americans’ first penalty, taking a soft shot that Lindahl saved comfortably. The next few shots went in for both teams until Solo made an excellent save on Linda Sembrant, getting the Americans back into the shootout. Morgan Brian and Seger both converted in the fourth round, but Press missed her penalty in the final round of spot kicks. Solo tried to ice Lisa Dahlqvist by saying that her glove was ripped and grabbing a new one, but it didn’t work. Dahlqvist converted, sending Sweden through to the medal rounds.

1. Allie Long is a bad fit as the deepest midfielder — Long is a good player who does a lot of things well. She’s a great ball-winner, energetic presser, excellent on set pieces on both ends of the pitch and a solid goal-scorer for a midfielder. The part of her game that’s probably the weakest is possession play and distribution from a lone holding midfielder role. And yet, it’s something that Ellis has persisted with asking her to do, despite significant evidence that it’s not a good use of her skills, and it’s especially puzzling given how good Brian is in that role. On Friday, the USWNT gave up a goal because of Long’s poor distribution and she was subbed immediately.

2. Crystal Dunn should be starting every game — All of Lloyd, Heath and Pugh did some great things on Friday, but none was nearly as impactful in 120 minutes as Dunn was in just under 60. Dunn was the USWNT’s most dangerous attacker by several orders of magnitude once she entered. She shouldn’t be starting on the bench.

3. Megan Rapinoe making the 18 looks like a poor decision — Down a goal, Ellis introduced Rapinoe to get her best set piece taker into the game. It was a sensible sub, but there was a problem. Rapinoe didn’t just look rusty in open play, but on set pieces too. And before halftime of extra time, she was taken back off.

In four games, Rapinoe has played twice. She was taken off 30 minutes into the last game, then subbed as a sub against Sweden. It’s clear that she’s not ready to contribute at a level anywhere near what she considers her best. She would have been worth taking a chance on with a 23-woman World Cup roster, but with the Olympics requiring a limited squad of just 18, it’s clear that Rapinoe shouldn’t have made the roster.