A lot of things, big and small, went into the worst ever Olympic finish for the United States
So the United States women got knocked out of the Olympics way earlier than anyone predicted by a Swedish team that did not look good at all in the group stage. But it happened, just as Pia Sundhage planned it: the low block, the frustration of the U.S. attack, the quick counter, the chance glimpsed and taken. In the end, Sweden made the most of their attack and the United States didn’t, and that’s that.
After taking a little time to wallow, now we dive into the many issues that added up into the totality of failure.