Sweden talks trash ahead of USWNT World Cup game

The rivalry between the USWNT and Sweden intensified in the hours leading up to Thursday’s World Cup match thanks to some trash talking.

The U.S. rivalry with Sweden intensified in the hours before their game with the Americans when their players decided to partake in some trash talking.

Even before the players decided to run with the ball, goalkeeper Hedvig Lindahl was running her mouth. During a news conference, she told reporters on Wednesday that the U.S. is making a big mistake looking past them.

“It’s the first time since the Olympics that we meet in this kind of setting, so I do think they want to put us in our place,” Lindahl said during the pre-game news conference. “At the same time, we hear communication from the U.S. that they’re going to play seven games in this tournament, so it doesn’t feel as if they have all of their focus on this game.”

There is plenty of bad blood between these teams. The Americans were eliminated in the quarterfinals of the 2016 Olympics by Sweden following a penalty-kick shootout (the game had ended 1-1 after overtime).

Hope Solo, in goal for the U.S. in that game, made some career-ending comments afterward, saying Sweden’s defensive tactics was like playing “a bunch of cowards.” U.S. Soccer later terminated Solo’s national team contract for making those comments.

“It’s the ultimate test, the type of match that we as a team need at this point of the tournament,” Sweden striker Kosovare Asllani told FIFA.com. “It’s a challenge for us but we also know that we always perform well against the USA. It will be fun and I hope it will be an enjoyable match to watch as well.”

The Group F finale will be played in Le Havre, France. The U.S. needs either a victory or draw to win the group. The U.S. is 3-1-1 against Sweden at the World Cup. In their last 10 meetings, the U.S. is 3-4-3. The only meeting since the Olympics was a 1-0 win for the U.S. in a 2017 friendly.

“They can play the game in the press area, if they want,” Lindahl said, according to Fox Sports. “We want to play the game on the field, and we’ll see what happens. Let them talk. We will play.”

That failure at the Rio Games, the first time the Americans did not reach the medal round since women’s soccer became an Olympic sport in 1996, has fueled the Americans. The USWNT is coming off two wins: a 13-0 rout of Thailand in the opener and this past Sunday’s 3-0 victory over Chile.

“I think players and coaches are not focused on what was, we’re focused on what will be,” coach Jill Ellis told reporters. “That’s really where you have to be. You’ve got to look forward. That’s the past.”

Striker Christen Press, who missed the PK in that shootout, said the U.S. is motivated by that defeat.

“Despite the fact that it’s been three years, you don’t forget the taste in your mouth when you fail and when you lose in a world championship,” she said. “And I think there’s a little bit of that that will definitely act as motivation.”