Megan Rapinoe addresses the U.S. women's soccer team's resounding Olympic loss to Sweden
The United States women's soccer team was just trounced by Sweden at the Olympics — and forward Megan Rapinoe is acknowledging, "We got our asses kicked."
Sweden scored a stunning 3-0 victory over the United States in women's soccer at the Olympics on Wednesday, The Associated Press reports. It was an upset after the U.S. had been the favorites to win gold, the AP notes, while Sweden was ranked No. 5. The loss came after Sweden previously defeated the U.S. in the quarterfinals at the Rio de Janeiro Games in 2016.
"We got our asses kicked, didn't we?" Rapinoe said after the game, per The New York Times. "I thought we were a little tight, a little nervous, just doing dumb stuff."
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Rapinoe also told The Associated Press, "Did we expect this result tonight? No. It's frustrating, and it's frustrating that it's Sweden. They found a lot of space on us. I don't even know how many goals we have given up this whole year. I don't remember the last time we gave up a goal. So to give up three is not great."
This ended the U.S. women's soccer team's 44-game unbeaten streak, The Washington Post notes. It was the team's first defeat since a loss to France in January 2019, as well as the first under coach Vlatko Andonovski, The New York Times reports. Former player Julie Foudy observed that the U.S. team's performance was "about as sloppy and lethargic as I have seen from the United States in a very long time," per HuffPost. They're set to face New Zealand in a game on Saturday.
"We got bopped, and we have two more games coming quick and fast," Rapinoe said, per the AP. "And now we know exactly what we need to do. We need to win these games and eventually get out of the group and go from there."
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Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
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