The US women’s soccer team stunned by losing 3-0 to Sweden to open the Tokyo Olympics

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TOKYO – Stena Blackstein scored two goals and Sweden once again stunned the United States at the Olympics with a 3-0 victory on Wednesday in the women’s soccer tournament.

The Americans, ranked No. 1 in the world and favorites to win the gold medal in Tokyo, were riding 44 straight games unbeaten before the match.

But Sweden, ranked No. 5, has been Team USA’s enemy of sorts in recent years. The Swedes managed to beat the Americans from the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics in the quarter-finals, the first-ever American Olympic elimination.

Then in April, Sweden played the United States to a 1-1 draw in Stockholm, cutting a winning streak going back to January 2019, when the Americans lost to France in the run-up to the World Cup.

Blacksteinius’ header in the far corner of Sofia Jacobson’s pass in the 26th minute gave Sweden a first-half lead.

The US came out meaningless, and their best first-half chance came in the last minute when Rose Lavell’s shot hit the post. Coach Vlatko Andonovsky made changes in the second half, replacing Carli Lloyd in place of Alex Morgan and Julie Earts in place of Sam Mewes.

But Blackstein scored again in the 54th minute by defeating goalkeeper Alyssa Naher, while the Americans continued to suffer. Then Lena Hurtig scored in the 72nd minute.

The loss was the first for the United States under Andonovsky, who took over after former coach Jill Ellis stepped down after the team won the World Cup in France.

The Swedish national team was without Magda Ericsson due to injury. The team said she was training, but due to the tight schedule of the tournament, she was disqualified from the opening match.

Tokyo is Sweden’s seventh Olympic Games. After eliminating Sweden on penalties in the quarter-finals five years ago, Sweden won the silver medal, losing to Germany 2-1 in the final.

The United States has four Olympic gold medals, more than any other country. The team is vying to become the first to win an Olympic gold medal after the World Cup title.

Sweden now top Group G ahead of Saturday’s game against Australia in Saitama, while the United States face New Zealand. The two best teams in the group advance to the knockout stage.

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