Sweden defeats the USA in an unpredictable penalty shootout for the Women’s World Cup

USA suffers their earliest-ever World Cup exit, as Sweden advances to play Japan in the quarterfinals.

After the teams were deadlocked at 0-0 at the end of extra time, Sweden defeated the USA 5-4 on penalties to eliminate the two-time reigning champions from the Women’s World Cup.

Lina Hurtig scored the winning penalty kick in a crazy shootout on Sunday, but the outcome needed to be verified by VAR because US custodian Alyssa Naeher parried the ball on the line.

The four-time champions’ Sophia Smith missed a golden opportunity to seal the victory when she fired the ball over the crossbar.

Zecira Musovic of Sweden, who made 11 saves before the shootout to keep the Scandinavians in the game, was hailed as the game’s hero.

The Swedes, who were frequently denied possession, didn’t have a shot on goal until Sofia Jakobsson, a substitute, moved into the box and shot straight at goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher in the 85th minute.

In the ninth minute of extra time, the legendary Megan Rapinoe came off the bench to replace striker Alex Morgan, but the Americans were unable to come away with the victory.

Rapinoe, a notoriously dead-eye penalty shooter for the US, missed the fourth attempt for the team after Nathalie Bjorn of Sweden had also missed.

Rebecka Blomqvist’s fourth shot for the Swedes was stopped by Naeher, but Smith’s missed attempt kept the Scandinavians in the game.

Hurtig stepped up and eliminated the tournament’s champions after Naeher and Magdalena Eriksson successfully converted their penalty kicks and Kelley Ohara sent her shot pinging off the right post.

The US, which has won the last two World Cups in France and Canada, suffered their earliest elimination after consistently reaching the semifinals or higher in the previous eight tournaments.