Sweden end U.S. World Cup reign in shootout
Melbourne, The Gulf Observer: Sweden beat the United States 5-4 on penalties to condemn the defending champions to their earliest Women’s World Cup exit on Sunday after the teams were locked at 0-0 at the end of extra time.
Lina Hurtig struck the winning spot-kick at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium to cap a madcap shootout in the round of 16 clash, though U.S. goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher parried the ball on the line and the result needed to be confirmed by VAR, Reuters reported.
Sweden head into a quarter-final against Japan in Auckland on Friday but it was the first exit before the semi-finals in nine World Cups for the Americans, who were bidding for an unprecedented third consecutive title.
