Sweden romped the US women's soccer team, 3-0, in their opening match of the TokyoOlympics .Stina Blackstenius led the charge with two goals in the upset.- The 25-year-old striker was also responsible for the US meltdown during the 2016 Olympics in Rio.
The US women's soccer team has an Achilles' heel at the Olympics.
Her name is Stina Blackstenius.
The 25-year-old striker provided the heroics in Sweden's 3-0 romp of the top-ranked US during their Tokyo Olympics opener Wednesday morning, scoring the first two goals in the upset. With the win, Sweden ended the Americans' 44-game unbeaten streak and severely complicated their path to overall victory at the games.
It's actually not the first time Blackstenius has almost single-handedly derailed a US bid for gold.
Five years ago, a then-20-year-old Blackstenius was instrumental in Sweden's massive upset over the US in the quarterfinal match at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Pia Sundhage was forced to sub in the budding star early in the do-or-die game after an injury to forward Fridolina Rolfö, and Blackstenius capitalized on the opportunity.
In the 61st minute of the contest, the wunderkind split the American defense for a breakaway and slotted a goal past US keeper Hope Solo that put Sweden on the board. Though the US equalized on a goal from its superstar Alex Morgan mere minutes later, the Swedes finished the job in penalty kicks, delivering a stunning blow to the reigning World Cup champions.
The US found itself in a similar position heading into the Tokyo Olympics. After winning the 2019 World Cup in dominant fashion, Vlatko Andonovski's squad entered the games looking to become the first team to earn gold directly after winning the preeminent international soccer tournament.
But once again, Blackstenius was around to thwart the effort.
In the 25th minute of Wednesday's contest, Sweden's Sofia Jakobsson delivered a cross into the box for the Bollklubben Häcken star, who connected with her head to find the back of the net and give her side an early lead.
-Planet Fútbol (@si_soccer) July 21, 2021
She doubled Sweden's advantage roughly 30 minutes later, cleaning up a loose ball deep in the box with a left-footed volley after a teammate's header ricocheted off the far post.
-#TokyoOlympics (@NBCOlympics) July 21, 2021
Though the US hasn't been eliminated from the tournament, the team's path to victory became a whole lot narrower thanks to Blackstenius' brilliant effort. The Americans will need to finish first or second in the four-team Group G - which features New Zealand and a formidable Australian side in addition to Sweden - to advance to the knockout stage.
They'll have three days to recover before taking the pitch for a Saturday-morning matchup against the Kiwis. Then, on Tuesday, the US is set to face the international superstar Sam Kerr and her Matildas for what promises to be a decisive final match in the group round.
But for now, Blackstenius has the Swedes sitting pretty atop the group. They'll face Australia - which also has a win under its belt - Saturday morning before finishing out the group stage against New Zealand.