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Under an ink black Australian sky above Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, the Women’s World Cup game between the United States and Sweden on Sunday went on and on and on. For 120 minutes, it went on as the teams tried unsuccessfully to score, with nearly 28,000 fans so nervous that they could only muster a simmer of cheers. Until penalty kicks turned up the volume and decided it all.

That’s when the United States’ recent dominance in the World Cup fully ended, and the Americans were left stunned and devastated by their worst showing at the quadrennial tournament. They had arrived as the favorites after winning two consecutive championships, in 2015 and 2019. But on Sunday, in the round of 16, three missed penalty kicks and a razor-thin goal by Sweden changed their fate.

Sophia Smith, who missed an opportunity to win for the United States, had to be consoled by her teammates as she sat on the field in tears. Kelley O’Hara, in her fourth World Cup, stormed by reporters and stared straight ahead in silence after the game, moments after her penalty shot hit the right post and bounced away.

And Megan Rapinoe, the outspoken and accomplished U.S. forward who had been relegated to a reserve at this World Cup, grew teary when discussing that her international career would end with her missing a penalty kick, calling it “a sick joke.” Just a week ago, Rapinoe was asked what the team’s legacy would be if it failed to win the world title yet again. She answered, “I haven’t thought about that.”

Now she won’t forget it. Sweden won the shootout, 5-4, to eliminate the United States.

Alex Morgan, the star U.S. forward, called it “a bad dream.”

“I’m really disappointed with myself, and I wish I could have provided more with this team,” said Morgan, who was on the bench for the shootouts because she had been replaced by Rapinoe earlier. She didn’t score during the entire tournament.

Julie Ertz, who rushed back to the team after having a baby a year ago, said it was sweet to see her son in the stands after the match. “But it still hurts to lose a game like that,” she said. She walked off, wiping the wet, smeared mascara from under her eyes.

It all came apart for the United States in a flurry of 14 kicks. Here’s how they unfolded, emotions included:

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Players from the United States, left, and Sweden reacting and cheering during the shootout.Credit…Asanka Brendon Ratnayake/Reuters

Andi Sullivan, the midfielder, is up first to face Sweden’s goalkeeper, Zecira Musovic, with her teammates lined up behind her, many arm in arm. She walks over to the spot with the death stare of a gunslinger, then nails the shot into the lower left of the goal. Sullivan spins back toward her teammates and pumps a fist. The crowd finally comes alive and chants: “U-S-A! U-S-A!” U.S. 1, Sweden 0.

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Andi Sullivan got the United States off to a good start, by nailing a shot into the lower left of the goal.Credit…Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

Fridolina Rolfo, a 5-foot-10 forward who has been on the national team for 10 years, is up first for Sweden against goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher about a month after winning the Champions League with Barcelona. She sends the ball into the right side of the net, her blond ponytail swinging behind her. She flexes her arms and opens her mouth wide to shout in celebration, and the Swedish fans, many clad in bright yellow and sitting right behind the goal, explode into cheers. U.S. 1, Sweden 1.

One of the U.S. co-captains, Lindsey Horan, has a familiar, ferocious “don’t mess with me” look on her face. It’s the look she had just before she scored the equalizer in the 1-1 tie versus the Netherlands in the group stage. It’s much tougher than the softer approach she took for much of last week with her teammates, as she encouraged the 14 World Cup rookies, one by one, to play with more confidence. The Swedish fans are booing her, competing with the U.S. cheers. But Horan is steely and delivers the ball precisely to the left side, rocketing it into the net. U.S. 2, Sweden 1.

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Credit…Quinn Rooney/Getty Images
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Credit…Hannah Mckay/Reuters

Elin Rubensson, a midfielder who returned to soccer just two months after having a baby in 2020, evidently decides that Horan picked a wonderful place to put the ball into the net. So she sends the ball there, too — and Naeher can’t get to it. U.S. 2, Sweden 2.

Up next is Kristie Mewis, whose little sister, Sam, won the World Cup title with the United States in 2019. The elder Mewis exhales hard before she shoots with her left foot and sends the ball into the right side of the goal. The stadium starts to rumble. U.S. 3, Sweden 2.

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Credit…William West/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
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Credit…Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

The fans are starting to think this might never end. Nathalie Bjorn, the right back for Sweden, tries to shoot into the left corner, but the ball has other ideas. It goes flying over the goal and the Sweden fans sigh in unison. She buries her face in her hands. The momentum has changed. Peter Gerhardsson, Sweden’s coach, says after the game: “You’re just waiting. You want it to be over, and you want it to go your way.” U.S. 3, Sweden 2.

The U.S. fans go wild when Megan Rapinoe walks up. She had come in for Morgan as a substitute and was sure the ball would go straight into the back of the net, just as it had so many times before, including in the final of the 2019 World Cup. This is her final World Cup, her fourth one, after she announced in July that she would retire this year. But now, her shot isn’t even close.

She sends the ball flying over the goal. On the way back to her team, she smiles because she just can’t believe it. This is how an international career ends? She thinks she last missed a penalty shot maybe in 2018.

“That’s some dark humor, me missing,” she says after the game. “I feel like I joke too often, always in the wrong places and inappropriately, so maybe this is ha-ha at the end.” U.S. 3, Sweden 2.

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Credit…William West/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
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Alyssa Naeher saved Rebecka Blomqvist’s shot.Credit…James Ross/EPA, via Shutterstock

Sweden’s Rebecka Blomqvist shoots and Naeher makes a superhero-like dive to knock the shot down. U.S. 3, Sweden 2.

The United States scored only four goals at this World Cup, and forward Sophia Smith scored half of them. She can win it for the U.S. team, and takes her time setting up. When she connects with the ball, it soars over the right side of the post. The win was there for the taking, and she couldn’t grab it. She buries her face in her black-gloved hands. She will not be the star today. Horan tells her later: “The best players in the world miss.” Smith explains to reporters later: “But you’ve got to remember, this is part of football. You get back up and it’s going to hurt. It’s going to hurt for forever.” U.S. 3, Sweden 2.

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Sophia Smith, right, was consoled by Lindsey Horan.Credit…Quinn Rooney/Getty Images
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Credit…William West/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Hanna Bennison, a substitute for Sweden, has a chance to save her team from what had looked like disaster. She scores, sending her team into a frenzy. Gerhardsson says later: “Accept that you are nervous, so that being nervous doesn’t make you more nervous.” U.S. 3, Sweden 3.

There’s a rumble among U.S. fans when they see who is taking the next shot: It’s Alyssa Naeher, the goaltender. She has flipped the switch in her head and is now taking on Musovic, her counterpart. Her shot goes smack into the middle of the goal after Musovic guesses wrong. U.S. 4, Sweden 3.

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Alyssa Naeher, who is also the U.S. goalkeeper, took one of the penalties and scored.Credit…Quinn Rooney/Getty Images
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Sweden celebrated Magdalena Eriksson’s penalty.Credit…Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

Magdalena Eriksson, a seasoned center back, needs to score to keep Sweden alive. And she delivers to the upper right corner. Sweden 4, U.S. 4.

It’s up to Kelley O’Hara, in her fourth World Cup. She sprints to the spot. She wants to win this game and this tournament and has rallied her team to have confidence that it will do both. But her shot bounces off the right post and away along the baseline.

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Kelley O’Hara missed.Credit…Asanka Brendon Ratnayake/Reuters
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Sweden fans celebrated.Credit…William West/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Sweden’s fans start to party, waving their blue-and-yellow flags and dancing. Naeher says she feels terrible for her teammates who missed: “They’ve trained for it. They’ve prepared for it. And, you know, unfortunately, those things happen. My heart hurts for them.” Sweden 4, U.S. 4.

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Naeher conceding the winning goal by Lina Hurtig. Naeher appeared to have saved it, but the ball crossed the goal line by the slimmest of margins.Credit…William West/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
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Lina Hurtig waited for a decision by the referee, Stéphanie Frappart.Credit…Hamish Blair/Associated Press
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Credit…William West/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Lina Hurtig, the forward who scored when Sweden humbled the United States at the Tokyo Olympics, can win it. She shoots toward the left side of the goal. Naeher leaps for it, hitting it once with both hands to make it fly upward. The ball goes up, and Naeher hits it again with her right arm while on the ground, stretched backward, to keep it out of the goal.

Did it go in, after all? Naeher insists she saved it. Hurtig raises her arms, and shadows the referee, Stéphanie Frappart, to make her case for a goal. The play is reviewed with cameras and tracking technology.

Then Frappart waves her arms: The game is over; it is ruled a goal. Hurtig takes off toward her teammates and the Swedish players run onto the field to celebrate.

The ball, indeed, had crossed entirely into the goal, according to the replay system. By the looks of it, the margin may be a millimeter. “I thought I had it. Unfortunately it must have just slipped in. But that’s tough. Ugh, we just lost the World Cup. It’s heartbreak,” Naeher says. Sweden 5, U.S. 4.

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Sweden’s players looking at a phone displaying the goal line technology that led to the decision on the final penalty. Credit…Alex Pantling/FIFA, via Getty Images

———————–

By: Juliet Macur
Title: How the U.S. Was Eliminated, Shot by Shot
Sourced From: www.nytimes.com/2023/08/06/sports/soccer/us-sweden-penalty-shots-womens-world-cup.html
Published Date: Sun, 06 Aug 2023 19:31:09 +0000

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Title: Did the Golden Globes Finally Figure Out How to Award Best Popular Film?
Sourced From: www.indiewire.com/awards/industry/golden-globes-award-best-popular-film-analysis-1234909167/
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By: Rob London
Title: ‘Gone With the Wind’ Star Hattie McDaniel’s Missing Oscar to Be Replaced
Sourced From: collider.com/gone-with-the-wind-hattie-mcdaniel-missing-oscar-replacement/
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NFL MVP Odds: Tua Tagovailoa Is Now The Outright Leader Over Patrick Mahomes

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NFL MVP Odds: Tua Tagovailoa Is Now The Outright Leader Over Patrick Mahomes – originally posted on Sportslens.com

For the second time in three weeks, the Miami Dolphins put on a historic offensive showing on Sunday. They scored the 3rd most points in NFL history against the Broncos, even forfeiting a chance at breaking the record of 73. It was a well-rounded effort that thrived in both the rushing and passing attacks, and it has quarterback Tua Tagovailoa all by himself when it comes to the favorite to win the NFL’s MVP award.

Tua Tagovailoa Is Now The Overall Favorite For NFL MVP

The award was Patrick Mahomes’ to lose. The Chiefs quarterback is the reigning MVP of the NFL, and he entered the season with the shortest odds to repeat (+600). He was the outright favorite, but trailing close behind were guys like Josh Allen and Joe Burrow. Mahomes and the Chiefs got out to a rough start in Week 1, as did the other MVP candidates.

But not Tagovailoa. His 466 yard, 3 touchdown performance vaulted him to the top of the leader board, where he took a share of the lead with Mahomes at +650 going into Week 2. Tua’s performance against the Patriots in the second game was solid enough to keep him near the top, but the top of the leaderboard was cluttered heading into Week 3.

The clutter is gone. Tagovailoa led the Dolphins to their historic 70 point day, completing 89% of his passes en route to 309 yards and 4 touchdown passes. He achieved those numbers in just three quarters of play, and the oddsmakers at the sports books have taken notice.

Big Test For Tagovailoa And Miami In Week 4

As of Monday morning, Tagovailoa was listed as the heavy favorite to win the NFL MVP award, coming in at +400, the shortest of any MVP odds so far this season. Mahomes was listed at +700 at the time of writing, though that number is subject to heavy change. The public will believe that Mahomes will eventually win the MVP award until it is firmly taken out of his grasp, and the more that they bet on him with longer odds, the more his number will come down.

Bet on Tua Tagovailoa For MVP (+400) at BetOnline

Will it last? Tagovailoa and the Dolphins will face their biggest test of the young season this coming Sunday, as they travel to Buffalo to face the division rival Bills. They have had one of the top-2 defenses in the league through the first three games, and are familiar with Tua and the Dolphins, having played against them three times last year.

The Bills are currently 2.5 point favorites for Sunday’s game.

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———————–

By: Anthony R. Cardenas
Title: NFL MVP Odds: Tua Tagovailoa Is Now The Outright Leader Over Patrick Mahomes
Sourced From: sportslens.com/news/nfl-mvp-odds-tua-tagovailoa-is-now-the-outright-leader-over-patrick-mahomes/
Published Date: Mon, 25 Sep 2023 18:26:02 +0000

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