Watch: Sweden dump USWNT out of FIFA Women's World Cup after agonizing VAR drama on pens, video goes viral
The USWNT were eliminated from the Round of 16 of the FIFA Women's World Cup after a penalty shootout defeat against Sweden on Sunday, August 8. There was late VAR drama involved in the penalty shootout.
Vlatko Andonovski's team entered the tournament in Australia and New Zealand as one of the favorites. However, their performances left a lot to be desired as the US won only one of their three group games.
The Round of 16 tie between the USWNT and Sweden reached penalties after neither team could find a breakthrough in 120 minutes of football.
After USWNT scored their first three spot kicks and their opponents scored their first two, Nathalie Bjorn missed Sweden's third, only to see Megan Rapinoe miss America's next one. Rebecka Blomqvist and Sophia Smith missed their shots as well. With the score level at 4-4 in the sudden death part of the shootout, veteran Kelley O'Hara missed her shot.
27-year-old forward Lina Hurtig stepped up to take the decisive spot-kick to send Sweden through to the quarterfinals. Hurtig's shot bounced off Alyssa Naeher, who flapped out a desperate arm to keep the ball out of the net, but a VAR check confirmed that the ball had crossed the line by millimeters. After the confirmation by the match referee, Sweden celebrated their progress as the defending champions were inconsolable.
Incredibly, with their elimination in the Round of 16, the 2023 edition will be the first where the USWNT won't be one of the top-three teams at a World Cup since its inception in 1991.
After the USWNT were eliminated from the FIFA Women's World Cup in dramatic fashion, British broadcaster Piers Morgan took a sarcastic dig at Megan Rapinoe on Twitter.
A social media post highlighted the heartbreaking end to Rapinoe's
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