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The 2-time defending World Cup champions USWNT haven’t looked themselves so far in this tournament. After beating Vietnam they struggled on their way to 2 draws just to get out of their group as the second-best team. It has been sluggish, lacking a spark, and predictable displays so far. Can the Stars and Stripes turn on things now the knockouts are here? Will the USWNT ladies feed off the tons of negativism thrown their way by the media? Here is our Sweden vs USWNT vs Portugal predicted lineups and also the latest USWNT team news.
The game is scheduled for Sunday, August 06th and will be played in Melbourne, Australia at the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium. The kick-off time is 10:00 am GMT. Here are our predictions for Sweden vs USWNT lineups.
Sweden predicted lineup: Are the Swedes ready for their biggest win?
The Swedish team became 1 of only 3 sides to win all of their 3 group-stage matches. It was mostly luck in the opening game to come from behind and edge South Africa. Sweden then turned on the style to trash Italy 5-0. In their final match, Sweden rested 9 regulars as they were already qualified. Still, they won 2-0 vs Argentina to show impressive depth.
Sweden’s confidence ahead of the coming knockout clash against the world champions will also be boosted by the fact that when the sides last met in a friendly just over a year ago the Scandinavians easily won 3-0.
Sweden team news
Coach Gerhardsson is expected to restore the 9 key players he rested in the final group game back to the starting lineup. Sweden have no injury issues and they enter the knockouts full of confidence and at full strength.
Here is how we think the Sweden women will line up in this opening game.
Sweden Predicted Lineups (4-2-3-1):
Musovic – Bjorn, Ilestedt, Eriksson, Andersson – Angeldal, Rubensson – Rytting Kaneryd, Asllani, Rolfo – Blackstenius
USWNT predicted lineup: Who can bring back the magic?
USWNT are now undefeated in their last 28 World Cup matches (W25 D3). The last time they lost a World Cup game was the 2011 final vs Japan. Yet, after the group stage finished the atmosphere in the camp is grim and the displays had been declining with each passing match.
The Stars and Stripes started with an unconvincing 3-0 win vs Vietnam. They then stumbled on a way to a lucky 1-1 draw vs the Netherlands. Needing a point in their last match against World Cup debutants Portugal they got it in a 0-0 draw. However, the post saved USWNT right at the end of this match and they were very close to crashing out of the competition already.
USWNT team news
Coach Vlatko Andonovski was not too concerned after the shaky group stage: “I think we are just going to get better from game to game, and we are going to be a lot more efficient as well.”
The USWNT team news is all positive with the camp enjoying a clean bill of health right now. The only player set to miss this match is the suspended Rose Lavelle. Demelo started the first 2 games instead of her anyway so this is not a major issue.
The legendary striker Alex Morgan is starting to feel some pressure and she will be keen to find the back of the net as soon as possible. She’s yet to score in this World Cup and even missed a penalty in the first game.
USWNT Predicted Lineups (4-3-3):
Naeher – Fox, Ertz, Girma, Dunn – Demelo, Sullivan, Horan – Rodman, Morgan, Smith
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