Amidst sky-high expectations, the United States women have come nowhere close to backing their No. 1 FIFA ranking so far in the 2023 Women’s World Cup.
The USWNT was poor throughout their three Group E matches, finishing second and nearly seeing their way out of the tournament, having never before been eliminated in the group stage but watching a would-be 92nd minute winner for Portugal clang off the post to save the day.
Finishing second in their group, the U.S. now have a much tougher road to a third straight Women’s World Cup victory, starting with a match against No. 3 Sweden.
Sweden are an old nemesis of the U.S. who have thwarted many attempts at silverware in the past. The European nation blasted the U.S. 3-0 at the Olympics three years ago, knocked them out of the 2016 Olympics as well, and won a 2011 Women’s World Cup group match.
It will take a Herculean effort for the USWNT to urn their awful group stage form into championship-caliber play, and it must start here or else their journey will end much earlier than anticipated. The U.S. women have never failed to reach short of the semifinals at any of the previous eight Women’s World Cup events, so Vlatko Andonovski must steer the ship back on course to avoid their worst-ever performance at this event.
MORE: Recap the scoreless draw between USA and Portugal that sent USWNT to knockout stage
USA vs Sweden live stream, TV channel
TV channel
Streaming
USA
FOX, Telemundo
Fubo, Fox Sports site/app,
Peacock (Spanish),
Telemundo Deportes site/app
UK
IVT1, STV Scotland
ITVX, STV Player
Australia
7mate
Optus Sport, 7plus
Canada
TSN1, TSN4,
TSN5, RDS
TSN+, TSN site/app, RDS site/app, Fubo
India
Star Sports Select 1
FanCode, JioTV, Hotstar VIP
New Zealand
Sky Sport 1 NZ
Sky Sport NOW
Singapore
FIFA WWC CH01
meWATCH
Hong Kong
Now TV
Now Player
Malaysia
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FIFA+
Fans in select regions of the world can stream the Women’s World Cup live on FIFA+, including in Japan, Brazil, Indonesia and Thailand.
What time does USA vs Sweden kick off?
This Women’s World Cup Round of 16 match at AAMI Stadium kicks off on Sunday, August 6 at 7 p.m. local time in Melbourne, Australia.
Here’s how that time translates across some of the major territories:
Date
Kickoff time
USA
Sun, Aug. 6
5 a.m. ET
Canada
Sun, Aug. 6
5 a.m. ET
UK
Sun, Aug. 6
10 a.m. BST
Australia
Sun, Aug. 6
7 p.m. AEST
India
Sun, Aug. 6
2:30 p.m. IST
Hong Kong
Sun, Aug. 6
5 p.m. HKT
Malaysia
Sun, Aug. 6
5 p.m. MYT
Singapore
Sun, Aug. 6
5 p.m. SGT
New Zealand
Sun, Aug. 6
9 p.m. NZST
USA vs Sweden projected lineups & team news
The biggest absence for the United States in this match is Rose Lavelle, who is suspended for yellow card accumulation. Lavelle has been one of the few positive performers on the USWNT through the group stage games, and her absence will be heavily felt in midfield. It’s likely that Savannah DeMelo will be deployed, after she started the first two matches of the tournament while Lavelle worked back to match fitness following injury.
Vlatko Andonovski’s lineup deployments have been heavily criticized so far through this Women’s World Cup, and a big question ahead of this match is whether he’ll make changes or stick with the decisions that have seen him come under heavy fire.
Most notably, he has played Julie Ertz at center-back through all three group stage games. While Ertz has performed to standard, it has meant Andi Sullivan is selected at the No. 6 spot, and she has struggled mightily so far. It has meant that despite being the presumed starter in defense before the tournament, Alana Cook has yet to play a single minute at the World Cup.
There are also questions on the wing, as aside from the brace Sophia Smith scored against Vietnam, nobody has performed well in the attacking trio. Trinity Rodman started the first two games, while Lynn Williams got the call against Portugal. 34-year-old Alex Morgan has not been her usual self in the middle, and could be rotated out for younger legs.
USA projected starting lineup (4-3-3): Naeher (GK) — Dunn, Girma, Cook, Fox — Horan, Ertz, DeMelo — Rodman, Smith, Williams.
Sweden head coach Peter Gerhardsson rotated his squad heavily for the final group stage match against Argentina, having already confirmed a spot in the knockout round, but he should return to his first-choice lineup here with the stakes raised.
This team can find goals from anywhere on the pitch, highlighted by the fact that defender Amanda Ilestedt is their leading scorer so far with three in the group stage. Her center-back partner Magdalena Eriksson is the most recognizable player on the roster, having been a Chelsea star for years before a tearful goodbye this summer preceded a move to Bayern Munich.
The only notable injury for Sweden to worry about is to young midfielder Hanna Lundkvist, who had just broken into the national team fold before an ankle injury in their pre-tournament friendly against the Philippines wrecked her chances of making the World Cup squad.
Sweden projected starting lineup (4-2-3-1): Falk (GK) — Bjorn, Ilestedt, Eriksson, Andersson — Angeldal, Rubensson — Kaneryd, Asllani, Rolfo — Blackstenius.
USA vs Sweden betting odds & lines
Despite the poor group stage showing, the U.S. remain as favorites in this match, although not by nearly the margin they’re used to in the past. Indeed, faith has waned considerably as the USWNT are plus-money favorites here against a strong Sweden side.
Goals are expected to be at a premium as defensive structure hasn’t been the problem for the United States, and like the USA, Sweden only conceded one goal in group stage play.
USA win
(90 mins)
Draw
(90 mins)
Sweden win
(90 mins)
Both teams
to score Y / N
Over / Under
2.5 goals
USA
advance
Sweden
advance
BetMGM
(USA)
+110
+225
+240
+100 / -140
+120 / -165
-185
+130
Sports
Interaction
(Canada)
+102
+215
+250
-110 / -141
+120 / -167
-192
+136
Top betting sites
(UK)
11/10
21/10
5/2
10/11, 4/5
5/4, 4/7
—
—
Unibet
(Australia)
2.05
3.35
3.80
2.02 / 1.76
2.28 / 1.60
—
—
Dafabet
(India)
2.13
3.35
3.80
2.03 / 1.80
2.33 / 1.66
1.57
2.49
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