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Olympic Games Women's Football | Group Stage
Jul 21, 2021 at 9.30am UK
Ajinomoto Stadium
UN

Sweden Women
3 - 0
USA Women

Blackstenius (25', 55'), Hurtig (72')
FT(HT: 1-0)

Preview: Sweden Women vs. USA Women - prediction, team news, lineups

:Headline: Preview: Sweden Women vs. USA Women - prediction, team news, lineups:
Sports Mole previews Wednesday's Olympic Games Women's Football clash between Sweden Women and USA Women, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Sports Mole

Sweden Women face USA Women in Group G of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics on Wednesday at the Ajinomoto Stadium, with kickoff at 9.30am BST.

USA are once again serious favourites for the gold medal this summer, having won this competition four times previously, whereas Sweden's best Olympics finish came five years ago when they finished second in Brazil.


Match preview

Sweden played two friendly fixtures last month in preparation for the Tokyo Olympics, and they proved to be a strong defensive outfit, with goalkeepers Hedvig Lindahl and Jennifer Falk both keeping a clean sheet each.

Their final warm-up fixture ended in a goalless draw with Australia, but Stina Blackstenius's strike was enough to beat Norway 1-0 in June.

Sweden field a strong squad for this summer's Olympics, with 12 of their 22 playing club football at Champions League level, including their whole back three.

Former Wolfsburg and Bayern Munich forward Fridolina Rolfo, now of Barcelona, poses a big threat in front of goal for Sweden and has been labelled as one to watch in this summer's Olympics.

Sweden have qualified for every Olympics tournament since women's football was introduced in 1996, and they will be looking to go one better than Rio 2016 this time around, but a big favourite in the USA stands in their way.

USA will be looking for revenge against Sweden this year after losing to Wednesday's opponents at the quarter-final stage of Rio 2016, the USA's earliest ever exit at the Olympics.

That game in 2016 finished after extra time as a 1-1 draw, the goals coming from Alex Morgan and Blackstenius, but Sweden defied the odds and beat USA on penalties.

The only other time USA missed out on the gold medal was in 2000 when they lost to Norway in the final in Sydney.

However, the USA are coming into this summer's games as world champions having won the World Cup in France three years ago, their fourth World Cup triumph.

Vlatko Andonovski's squad is full of quality and experience, including the likes of Carli Lloyd, Morgan, Christen Press and Megan Rapinoe.

Sweden Women form (all competitions):
  • D
  • W
  • W
  • D

USA Women form (all competitions):
  • W
  • W
  • W
  • W
  • W

Team News

Peter Gerhardsson opts to play a back three which will be made up from Chelsea's Magdalena Eriksson, Bayern Munich's Amanda Ilestedt and Rosengard's Nathalie Bjorn.

Sweden's captain is midfielder Caroline Seger, who made her senior international debut in 2005 and has gone on to earn 215 caps for her country.

USA have strength and depth in every position, with their squad featuring 11 players who competed at the 2016 Olympics and 17 members of the 2019 World Cup-winning squad.

The forward prowess available to Andonovski provides a selection headache as to how he can fit all of his attacking players onto the pitch.

Rapinoe, Morgan and Lloyd are the most experienced forward players in the USA squad, racking up an impressive 665 appearances between them.

Sweden Women possible starting lineup:
Lindahl; Eriksson, Bjorn, Ilestedt; Andersson, Seger, Bennison, Glas; Blackstenius, Rolfo, Jakobsson

USA Women possible starting lineup:
Naeher; Dunn, Sauerbrunn, Dahlkemper, O'Hara; Lavelle, Horan, Sam Mewis; Lloyd, Morgan, Rapinoe


We say: Sweden Women 1-3 USA Women

Sweden have proven to be a tough opponent for USA in recent years, and are the latest team to stop USA from winning, during a run of friendly fixtures this calendar year.

However, USA are on a long unbeaten run, dating back to the beginning of 2019, which represents the squad's reaction to a disappointing Olympics in 2016, and that motivation should be strong enough to carry them far in Japan this summer.



Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 1.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Over 1.5:data




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