MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – The USA women’s soccer team was beaten by Sweden yesterday, giving the Americans their worst finish in World Cup history.
Sweden beat the United States 5-4 on penalty kicks to knock the defending champions out of the Women’s World Cup Sunday. The score was 0-0 at the end of extra time in the match.
This was USA’s first loss in the World Cup since 2011. The loss is the earliest exit for the women’s team in World Cup history. The worst they ever previously finished was third place.
After the game, the team released a statement acknowledging the disappointment but also crediting the teams who did make it through to the quarterfinals.
“This year’s Women’s World Cup is a testament to the growth of Women’s soccer on a global scale and we are excited to see increased investment in these incredible players,” the statement said. “Our goal remains the same, to win. We are committed to surpassing the standard we helped create and we will rise to meet the challenge.”
The women’s team has been clamoring for higher pay for years, while sometimes making political statements. Team standout Megan Rapinoe (pictured above) was defiant after her loss, saying: “Say what you want about my lesbian marriage, at least I didn’t find my wife at a Jeffrey Epstein going out of business sale.”
Rapinoe may have been striking back at Donald Trump, who said after the loss that “America is going to hell.”