USWNT coach blames bad luck for team's World Cup exit to Sweden on penalties
U.S. women's national team head coach Vlatko Andonovski has blamed luck for the Star and Stripes' earliest exit in World Cup history after its Round of 16 elimination at the hands of Sweden, suggesting that soccer 'can be cruel sometimes'.
Following the 5-4 loss on penalties in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, which included misses from Megan Rapinoe, Kelly O'Hara and Sophia Smith, the 46-year-old, who's been in charge of the USWNT since 2019, said at first that he's 'so proud of the team' in his post-match comments to Fox Sports.
'I know that we were criticized for the way we played and I know we were criticized for different moments throughout the group stage but I think we came out today and we showed what we were all about,' added Andonovski in response to criticism that several players stay quiet when the national anthem is played before each game.
'We showed grit, resilience, fight and bravery. We showed everything that we could to win the game and unfortunately soccer can be cruel sometimes.'
Goalkeeper Zecira Musovic was the hero for Sweden, keeping scores deadlocked at 0-0 despite her side being totally outplayed by the tournament-favourite Americans for two hours.
Lina Hurtig scored the deciding spot kick in dramatic circumstances to settle a gripping shootout, which also saw the Swedes miss two penalties through Rebecka Blomqvist and Nathalie Bjorn.
Hurtig's low shot floated upwards after being blocked by U.S. goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher, who then swatted the ball away, and was initially ruled not to have crossed the line.
But that decision was overruled on review, sparking wild scenes among the Swedish players and fans at a packed AAMI Park in Melbourne.
Asked to reveal what he said to his players in the huddle to the
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