The United States finally faces a true challenge at the Women’s World Cup, as today’s game against Sweden looms as a big one both in Group F (the winner takes first place in the group) and in the USWNT’s psyche. Despite the U.S.’s success in World Cups and Olympiads, the USWNT has not defeated Sweden in a serious competition since the group stage of the 2007 World Cup (a 2-0 win thanks to an Abby Wambach brace).
That’s not some fluke of the fixture list. The Swedes beat the Americans 2-1 in the 2011 World Cup’s group stage, held them to a 0-0 draw in the 2015 World Cup, and famously knocked the U.