And not just any loss because the 3-0 defeat to Sweden in the opening game of the Tokyo Olympics leaves the Americans with no room for error in its next two group-stage games with New Zealand and Australia.
If there was any doubt that these pandemic-delayed Games would be different, it was dispelled in the first half against Sweden.
The players were audible from the second level as they shouted at one another. Goals and great saves were acknowledged by whatever applause the seven substitutes on each team’s bench could muster — and by Andrés Cantor, whose signature cry ofIt was an eerie tableau.“You go to a major tournament, that’s one of the best parts, just the buzz that we get. We should be thankful that we even have a tournament, but, yeah, definitely changed the dynamic a lot.
If Sweden, ranked fifth in the world by FIFA, was bothered by that, it didn’t show. Playing off the front foot from the start, the Swedes forced U.S. goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher into four sprawling saves in the opening 24 minutes before a well-marked Stina Blackstenius finally beat her, stepping in front of defender Abby Dahlkemper to nod home a perfect right-footed Sofia Jakobsson cross from the edge of the penalty area.It was the first goal the top-ranked U.S.
The last time the U.S. allowed two goals in the same game was in Andonovski’s debut as coach, a time when the coronavirus was still months away from changing the sports landscape. And when second-half substitute Lina Hurtig added a goal of her own in the 72nd minute, it marked the first time the U.S. had given up three goals since a 5-3 win over Australia in April 2019, three months before it won the Women’s World Cup.
But that was 13 years and four coaches ago. It won’t be as easy this time, not in a 12-team field that includes eight of the world’s top 10 teams and the four semifinalists from the last World Cup.
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