USA crash out of Women's World Cup after dramatic penalty shootout decided by VAR call
The USA crashed out of the Women's World Cup in the Round of 16 after a dramatic penalty shootout defeat to Sweden.
It was a cagey start to the contest in Melbourne, with Sweden dominating most of the ball and the USA looking to hit their opponents on the break. And it wasVlatko Andonovski's side who carved open the first clear chance of the game, with Trinity Rodman driving at the Swedish defence and unleashing a powerful strike that was smothered to safety by Chelsea's Zecira Musovic.
Rodman tested Musovic once again minutes later, the Washington Spirit forward pouncing on a loose ball and seeing her goal-bound effort tipped over the bar. The USA continued to grow into the game, with captain Lindsey Horan crashing her header off the crossbar after a sumptuous corner delivery.
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Horan came close again early in the second half, arrowing a shot towards the bottom corner that was smartly tipped behind by Musovic. It was a truly inspired display from the Sweden shot-stopper, who again saved well from Sophia Smith and Alex Morgan to force extra time at AAMI Park.
With the clock ticking down, Musovic did superbly well to keep out a Morgan header which looked destined for the back of the net, while Smith, too, saw her strike turned behind by the Chelsea 'keeper.
And it was the USA who looked to be heading for the quarter-finals, after Sweden's Nathalie Bjorn became the first player to blink in the shootout. However, Megan Rapinoe, Sophia Smith and Kelley O'Hara all missed from the spot to give Peter Gerhardsson's side the advantage, with Arsenal's Lina Hurtig stepping up to take the decisive penalty.
Hurtig's effort was initially saved by Alyssa Naeher,
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