USWNT is no longer the World Cup favorite, faces uphill battle against Sweden
Yahoo Sports writer Nick Bromberg previews the upcoming USWNT match versus Sweden in the knockout round and breaks down the biggest potential roadblocks for the U.S., should they advance out of the round of 16.
Video Transcript
[AUDIO LOGO]
NICK BROMBERG: The United States' tough road to a third consecutive Women's World Cup title begins early Sunday morning against Sweden. The pretournament favorites no longer have that status after finishing second in Group E to the Netherlands. England is now the BetMGM favorite to win the World Cup at plus-300, while the US is tied with Spain at plus-400.
The good news for the US is that both Spain and England are on the opposite side of the bracket and are headed for a potential semifinal matchup. And if the US does get to the final against either of those teams or someone else, it will have gone through a gauntlet. Sweden won Group G with three wins in its three games and outscored opponents 9-1. Japan potentially awaits in the second round after outscoring its Group C opponents 11-0. And a rematch with the Netherlands could be on tap in the semifinal after the Dutch blew out Vietnam to beat the United States for the top spot in Group E.
After a lackluster three games in the group stage, the US has said it knows what it needs to fix ahead of the knockout rounds. But that's easier said than done, of course. Some better finishing would go a long way against the Swedes. The US scored just four goals in the group stage. And three came against a Vietnam team that allowed nine goals in its other two games.
The US is also facing Sweden without Rose Lavelle. Her two yellow cards in the group stage means she's suspended for the game. Without Lavelle in the midfield, the US will need a creative spark from someone else to unlock the Swedish defense.
Sunday's game is one the US is more than capable of winning. But we said the same thing about the games against the Netherlands, and Portugal. The US hasn't come close to meeting its lofty expectations that it set for itself so far. And if it doesn't flip the switch on Sunday, it will be out of the World Cup before the semifinals for the first time ever.