The U.S. women’s national team will fight to keep their 2023 World Cup campaign alive Sunday against Sweden in a round of 16 match that’s win-or-go-home. The Americans are vying for a third straight World Cup victory, which would be a record, and fifth overall.
With columnist Nancy Armour on the ground, USA TODAY Sports will offer the latest updates, highlights, analysis and more throughout the USWNT’s Group E finale match. Follow along.
USWNT 0, Sweden 0: Instant halftime analysis
MELBOURNE, Australia − This was, by far, the best the USWNT has looked so far this tournament. The team finally looked like a two-time defending champion, playing with energy and cohesiveness. Vlatko Andonovski’s decision to start Emily Sonnett in the midfield seemed like a head-scratcher at first, but it did the trick.
Sonnett set the tone early, mixing it up with two Sweden players on the first possession and the Americans took off from there. They created two chances in the first seven minutes alone, and Sweden had no answer for Trinity Rodman. She got several shots off that Sweden’s goalkeeper, Zećira Mušović, had to smother or punch away. Lindsey Horan almost had another set-piece goal, too, her header off Andi Sullivan’s corner kick banging off the crossbar.
WORLD CUP CENTRAL: 2023 Women’s World Cup Live Scores, Schedules, Standings, Bracket and More
− Nancy Armour, USA TODAY Sports columnist
History on USWNT’s side with halftime ties
More good news for the Americans (and all their fans who got up early to watch them in the Round of 16 vs. Sweden): The USWNT has never lost a World Cup game when tied at halftime. They’ve tallied 12 wins and five draws during that time.
Does that mean a win against Sweden is in the future? We’ll find out in the next 45 minutes.
Sweden’s Zećira Mušović has great first half
If they were giving out MVP awards at halftime, honors would likely go to Sweden’s goalkeeper, Zećira Mušović, who has made a handful of clutch saves in the first half of the USWNT-Sweden match up.
Mušović, 27, made her international debut with the Swedish national team in March 2018. This is her second World Cup. She plays club ball with Chelsea.
USWNT looks aggressive, energetic vs. Sweden
Late in the first half the USWNT is still tied 0-0 with Sweden, but there is good news: The Americans look much better.
From kickoff the USWNT has been energetic and aggressive, especially compared to their last two group games vs. Netherlands and Portugal, respectively.
Forty-one minutes into the match, the Americans have already registered five shots, two on target, including a couple of good looks from Trinity Rodman. Lindsey Horan also nearly had another goal off a corner kick, her header banging off the crossbar.
Sweden, meanwhile, has just one shot, which was not on target.
When does the USWNT play next?
The Americans play Sweden in the World Cup knockout round of 16 at 5 a.m. ET Sunday.
USWNT starting lineup vs. Sweden
MELBOURNE, Australia − We’ve got the starting lineup for the USWNT’s first match of the knockout round vs. Sweden. Just a reminder that Sweden is one of the USWNT’s biggest rivals and the Americans are here after finishing second in their group.
To say this lineup is … interesting is putting it mildly. Emily Sonnett is making her first start in a year in the midfield, and Trinity Rodman is back in the starting lineup after being replaced by Lynn Williams against Portugal.
Here’s the full lineup:
Goalkeeper: Alyssa Naeher
Defenders: Crystal Dunn, Julie Ertz, Naomi Girma, Emily Fox
Midfielders: Andi Sullivan, Lindsey Horan, Emily Sonnett
Forwards: Sophia Smith, Alex Morgan, Trinity Rodman
How to watch: What channel is game on, how to stream
USA women World Cup schedule
If the USWNT beats Sweden on Sunday, the team will play at 3:30 a.m. ET Friday, August 11 against Japan.
What time is it in Melbourne?
Melbourne is 14 hours ahead of the East Coast of the United States. The game kicked off at 7 p.m. Melbourne time.
Naomi Girma on what it‘s like to make the USWNT, in her own words
I know I watched the 2011 World Cup, but I don’t remember where I was. In 2015, I was at an Olympic Development Program regional camp, and we all watched together. I was like, “Wow, this is incredible.” I’m a fan, you know? I’m rooting for them, wanting them to win.
When I got called into my first full team camp, in October of 2020, that’s when I got the first taste of knowing I could play on this team. I was in college still, and knew I was good in college but I wasn’t sure I would be at the international and professional level.
The culture and the standards that have made the national team so successful, it’s not told to you. There’s no handbook. But you can feel the intensity when you come to camp. You can feel it. You can feel the focus, the attention to detail, and I think you quickly learn that’s the standard. To make it on this team, you have to live above that standard and keep pushing it. You see it in how people carry themselves, how they train, how they recover, how they take care of their bodies.
Read Naomi Girma’s full story, as told to Nancy Armour, here.
Megan Rapinoe in different role for USWNT at 2023 World Cup
The Golden Ball and Golden Boot winner from the 2019 World Cup is suiting up for the U.S. for the 2023 World Cup, which will be her last.
It is what Rapinoe has done off the field, however, that has transformed this exceptional athlete into an icon whose impact will continue long after she retires. As it was with Muhammad Ali and Billie Jean King before her, there is the world as it existed before Megan Rapinoe and the world as it exists now, because of what she’s done and the stands she’s taken. Gender equity, LGBTQ rights and racial equality — gains have been made in these areas and others because of her willingness to use her platform.
“For me and for this team, it’s always been the vibe of leaving everything better than where you found it,” Rapinoe told USA TODAY Sports in June. “Undeniably we’ve changed the game and been a part of these multi movements that are all kind of happening at the same time and have left the world in a better place.”
USA vs. Sweden predictions
Nancy Armour, columnist: I could make a case for the game going either way. If the USWNT gets a goal early, I think they win handily. If it’s another slog at halftime, Sweden advances.
Lindsay Schnell, reporter: I’m not sure if I’m overly optimistic or naive, but I have to think that purely based on the law of averages, the numerous looks the U.S. has been getting will go in eventually. So I’m picking the Americans, 2-1.
Alex Morgan starts 15th career World Cup game
But Morgan is also a disruptor. Keenly aware of the advantages her stardom has afforded her, she actively uses them to advocate for others.
“She deserves a ton more credit than she gets in this regard,” said Becca Roux, executive director of the USWNT Players Association. “A lot of people talk,” Roux added. “She does a lot of work that people never see.”
Read the full story here.
Sophia Smith is the next face of the USWNT. And she knows it.
When 14-year-old Sophia Smith told her family she was giving up basketball to concentrate fully on soccer, her dad, who played college hoops at Wyoming, took the news hard.
“Man, Soph, you could really be something in basketball,” Kenny Smith told his youngest daughter.
Sophia’s matter-of-fact response: “I’m going to be special in soccer.”
Talk about prescient.
Now 22, Smith is set to make her World Cup debut this summer with the U.S. women’s national team and show international audiences what a growing domestic fan base has known for a while: She’s about to take over.
“Her ability to turn and go 1-on-1 is next level,” said USWNT teammate Naomi Girma, who plays for the NWSL’s San Diego Wave and was Smith’s teammate at Stanford. “To a defender, she’s annoying.”
Read Lindsay Schnell’s full piece here.
Emily Sonnett gets first career World Cup start
Emily Sonnett is making her first-ever World Cup start vs. Sweden, filling in at midfield for the missing Rose Lavelle, who is suspended due to yellow card accumulation in group play.
This will be Sonnett’s 77th appearance with the USWNT, and her first start since July 14, 2022, in the semifinals of the Concacaf championship, where the USWNT qualified for both the World Cup and next year’s Paris Olympics. And she scored, her only career goal with the USWNT.
Sonnett, 29, currently plays for the NSWL’s OL Reign in Seattle, but used to play with fellow USWNT midfield Andi Sullivan for the Washington Spirit.
Trinity Rodman trying to make World Cup history
Trinity Rodman sometimes has to remind herself that she is not dreaming.
Four years ago, she watched U.S. women’s national team stars like Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan win the World Cup in France. Ahead of the 2023 tournament in Australia/New Zealand, Rodman — yes, she is the daughter of NBA champion and Hall of Famer Dennis — finds herself calling Rapinoe and Morgan teammates, feeding them passes from the left wing.
“To be a part of it, to even talk about Trinity Rodman in a World Cup and putting my name with other names, I can’t even wrap my head around it,” Rodman told USA TODAY Sports in June, a few days after her 21st birthday. “But it’s so exciting.”
Rodman is among the youngest of the 23 players U.S. coach Vlatko Andonovksi selected for the World Cup, which begins July 20, providing Rodman an opportunity to show the country — and the world — there is a lot more to her than the last name.
Read Chris Bumbaca’s full story here.
Sweden vs. United States odds
Despite their uninspiring play thus far, World Cup betting odds still favor the United States in their round of 16 matchup against Sweden. But the gap has closed, with many of the top online sportsbooks pessimistic about the Americans’ chances.
The USWNT is still slight +120 favorites to defeat Sweden (+230) this weekend, a slim margin that is a result of the Americans’ inauspicious start to the tournament, according to BetMGM. For example, BetMGM had the United States as -350 favorites to defeat Portugal in their final group stage match that ended in a scoreless draw.
The Americans are also no longer the favorites to win the World Cup. England (+300) has passed the USWNT (+400) in that category, per BetMGM.
Understanding the current state of the USWNT and its impact on betting trends is paramount to understanding how to bet on sports. If you still believe the United States can win a third consecutive title, USA TODAY readers can get access to exclusive sportsbook promo codes to redeem at the best mobile sports betting apps that offer World Cup wagering. — Richard Morin, Sporting betting partnerships editor
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Carli Lloyd criticizes USWNT
According to Lloyd, her former team isn’t headed for the championship game anyway.
“(The draw against Portugal) was uninspiring. Disappointing. They don’t look fit. They’re playing as individuals and the tactics are too predictable,” Lloyd said on FOX Sports postgame show. “(They’re) lucky to not be going home right now.”
She reiterated some criticism she’s leveled at U.S. soccer since retiring in 2021, saying “the winning doesn’t matter as much anymore” as much as “a lot of the off the field things that are happening.”
USWNT captain Lindsey Horan dismisses Carli Lloyd’s criticism as noise: ‘You have no idea’
The former team captain, who is now with FOX Sports, has spent several days ripping the U.S. women. She’s questioned their preparation as well as their passion, saying the USWNT is no longer committed to winning.
Current captain Lindsey Horan pushed back on those opinions Thursday when asked specifically about Lloyd’s comments.
“I always want to defend my team and say, ‘You have no idea what’s going on behind the scenes. You have no idea, every single training, what we’re doing. Individually, collectively,’” Horan said. “For anyone to question our mentality hurts a little bit. But at the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter. I don’t really care. It’s what’s going on inside of here, what’s going on inside of the team.”
USWNT fans make themselves heard in Melbourne
MELBOURNE, Australia − It was hard to know what to expect from the crowd tonight, and how many USWNT supporters would be in town. Most American fans likely expected the USWNT to be playing in Sydney and bought tickets accordingly, and switching gears would have taken some doing. It would have required changing flights and hotels, as well as buying new tickets. And unlike Auckland and Wellington, which were crawling with USWNT fans on game days, you didn’t see many Americans in Melbourne this weekend.
But early on, the American Outlaws are making themselves heard here. They’re leading rounds of chants from one side of the field and they’re echoing throughout Melbourne Rectangular Stadium.
− Nancy Armour
Is Rose Lavelle playing tonight?
No. The U.S. midfielder is suspended for the match against Sweden because of yellow card accumulation in group play.
How can USWNT beat Sweden at World Cup? Start with these three lineup changes
To say the U.S. prospects of advancing are not great is putting it nicely. But the USWNT has never been known to give up − 2011 quarterfinals, anyone? − and wacky, unexpected things have become the norm at this World Cup.
So how can the USWNT reverse its fortunes? Here are a few lineup ideas.
USWNT needs to channel Ted Lasso: ¡Mucho, mucho joy!
AUCKLAND, New Zealand − The U.S. women got away from what got them here.
Not the tactics or the rotation or even personal performances. Go back further. All the way back, to when they first fell in love with this game. The gleeful abandon they felt in running up and down the field, chasing a ball or scoring a goal. Their delight in playing with their friends.
That’s what’s been missing in this slog of a World Cup, one in which the USWNT has looked weighted down and lost as they’ve fallen short of everyone’s expectations including their own.
Joy.
Read Nancy Armour’s full column.
World Cup bracket 2023
Here’s how the 2023 World Cup bracket is set up.
World Cup schedule, knockout stage
Here’s the full schedule for the knockout rounds.
Saturday, Aug. 5
- Spain 5, Switzerland 1 … Spain advances to play Netherlands
- Japan 3, Norway 1 … Japan advances to play winner of USWNT-Sweden
Sunday, Aug. 6
- Netherlands 2, South Africa 0 … Netherlands advances to play Spain
- Sweden (Group G winner) vs. USA (Group E runner-up) in Melbourne Rectangular at 5 a.m.
Monday, Aug. 7
- England (Group D winner) vs. Nigeria (Group B runner-up) in Lang Park, Brisbane at 6.30 a.m.
- Australia (Group B winner) vs. Denmark (Group D runner-up) in Stadium Australia, Sydney at 3.30 a.m.
Tuesday, Aug. 8
- Colombia (Group H winner) vs. Jamaica (Group F runner-up) in Hindmarsh, Adelaide at 4 a.m.
- France (Group F winner) vs. Morocco (Group H runner-up) in Melbourne Rectangular at 7 a.m.
Friday, Aug. 11
- Spain vs. Netherlands in Wellington Regional at 9 p.m. ET Thursday
- Japan vs. Sweden/USWNT in Eden Park, Auckland at 3.30 a.m.
Here’s what you need to know about each of these matchups.
