USA women's football stunned by Sweden on penalties in Rio

Rio de Janeiro (AFP) – Women’s football world champions the United States’ bid for a fourth consecutive gold medal was ended by a shock 4-3 defeat on penalties to Sweden after a 1-1 draw in Brasilia on Friday.

Defeat is the Americans’ first in 15 games at the Olympics and only their third ever in Games history having won four golds and a silver since women’s football was introduced to the Olympic programme.

Star striker Alex Morgan and substitute Christen Press missed penalties before Lisa Dahlkvist converted the winning spot-kick for a Sweden side coached by Pia Sundhage, who led the USA to gold in 2008 and 2012.

Sweden will now face either hosts Brazil, who thrashed them 5-1 in the group stages, or Australia in Tuesday’s semi-final in Rio.

Morgan looked to have saved America’s blushes when she swooped 13 minutes from the end of normal time to cancel out Stina Blackstenius’s opener just after the hour mark.

But the world’s number one ranked side failed to break down Sundhage’s well-organised Swedes in extra-time, who also had a perfectly good goal from Lotta Schelin wrongly ruled out for offside in the final minutes.

Controversial US keeper Hope Solo, pursued by chants of “Zika” by Brazilian fans earlier in the tournament for her extravagant posts on social media about the virus, desperately tried to put Dahlkvist off by delaying the final spot kick by changing her gloves.

However, it was to no avail as Dahlkvist coolly converted to take Sweden into their first ever Olympic Games semi-final.