Here we go again: USWNT and Sweden to meet for sixth straight World Cup

Despite all of the previous meetings, the teams have never faced off in the World Cup knockout stage before

The U.S. women’s national team and Sweden can’t seem to get enough of each other in major competitions.

Sweden clinched first place in Group G with a 2-0 win against Argentina on Wednesday, sealing a spot in the last 16 against the USWNT, which finished as runner-up in Group E.

This will be the sixth consecutive World Cup at which the USWNT has faced Sweden, and the seventh out of nine overall. It will also be the first time the two teams have met in the knockout stage.

Overall at the World Cup, the USWNT has won four, lost one and drawn one out of its six previous matchups against the Swedes.

The history between the USWNT and Sweden extends well beyond the World Cup, though, as the teams have met at the past two Olympics — with disastrous results for the USA.

At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Sweden stunned the USWNT in the quarterfinals on penalties, ensuring the U.S. would end the Olympics without a medal for the first time. Five years later in Japan, the U.S. would be thrashed 3-0 by Sweden in their opener. Vlatko Andonovski’s side never seemed to fully recover from that humbling defeat, and would go on to take home a bronze medal.

USWNT-Sweden at 2023 World Cup

After very different group stage outcomes for the two teams, the Swedes may actually go into the last-16 matchup as slight favorites.

Sweden dominated an admittedly weak Group G, winning all three of its games while scoring nine goals and conceding just one.

The USWNT, meanwhile, struggled through Group E, turning in some uncharacteristically limp performances on the way to just one win and two draws. It was the first time in the team’s history that it failed to win at least two group games at a World Cup, and its total of five points was also an all-time low.

The two teams will kick off at 5 a.m. ET on Sunday at the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium.

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