A Heartbreaking End to a Nightmare Tournament | USWNT vs. Sweden Reactions

For the first time in nine Women’s World Cups, the United States will not reach the semi-finals.

In a fitting end to a tournament full of disappointments, USWNT lost to Sweden in the Round of 16.

“This is gut-wrenching, difficult to watch. We wanted Vlatko to make changes, THESE WEREN’T THE CHANGES in the lineup we requested,” Alexis says.

Criticizing Vlatko has become a common theme in this year’s World Cup, as the manager has looked lost quite frequently with both his in-match and formational decisions.

The Cooligans acknowledge that USWNT had a myriad of chances in this match, and the overall sentiment surrounding it could become more positive as fans continue to process it. However, following a crucial loss, the negatives are magnified.

Alexis gives a lot of credit to Alyssa Naeher for her stellar play in the tournament despite entering it in poor form.

“She’s clearly able to be a No. 1 even if she’s not playing well at her club,” he says.

Alexis believes all of the signs that resulted in USWNT’s failure point back to Vlatko, declaring that this role was clearly above his pay grade, and Christian wholeheartedly agrees.

Christian believes that the midfield adjustments played a role in USWNT’s better performance despite the loss, giving a ton of credit to Zećira Mušović for her incredible goalkeeping to shut the Americans out.

“She had the game of her career,” he says.

“I haven’t gotten this confirmed, and I really do believe this, I think she had plexiglass glued to her hands... is there a forcefield around this woman?” Alexis jokes.

USWNT has a lot of questions to answer following this defeat, and it will be a long four years before the squad gets a shot at redemption...

Want to hear more from the Cooligans? Check out the full episode, which includes expanded thoughts on the USWNT-Sweden match!

SHOW BREAKDOWN

Is this the end of USWNT dominance?

• We are sad and angry at the metric system! It’s the end of the road for the USWNT at the 2023 Women’s World Cup after being eliminated by Sweden on penalty kicks by only a millimeter. Christian and Alexis give a full tactical break down of what went wrong for the United States and debate what Vlatko Andonovski should’ve done differently throughout the tournament. We also discuss if the loss will be a watershed moment for the USWNT and ask what must be done to return to the top of women’s international soccer. Let us know what you think in the comments!

Watch more below!

VIDEO:

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