Tokyo Olympics football opening round: US Women's 44-game unbeaten run ended by Sweden

Sweden women’s football team provided the first shock of Tokyo 2020 even before it officially kicked off. The opening ceremony will officially launch the Games on Friday (23 July). The fluorescent yellow and blues beat the United States, 3-0 on the first day of the Olympic football tournament. The four-time Olympic gold medallists were never really able to make their presence felt, with Stina Blackstenius’ header into the far corner off a cross from Sofia Jakobsson gifting Sweden the first-half lead. The goal in the 26th minute did not receive a fitting response, with the legendary team’s best chance of the opening half coming in the final moments. Rose Lavelle’s shot hit the post, much to the agony of the fans who were desperately optimistic for an equaliser.

The half-time stats of six shots on goal for Sweden with 10 on target, to one and three respectively for the US painted a very sad picture. However, it was a cruel indication of how poorly prepared the four-time Olympic gold medallists were for the opener.

Coach Vlatko Andonovski made changes for the second half, with Carli Lloyd and Julie Ertz subbed in for Alex Morgan and Sam Mewis respectively. However, this did not result in anything concrete with Blackstenius scoring again in the 54th minute, beating goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher. Lina Hurtig followed this up with a third goal in the 72nd minute as the Americans continued to struggle.

First loss for the United States under Andonovski

The 3-0 defeat marked the first loss for the United States under Andonovski. The US manager took over the role when former coach Jill Ellis stepped down following the team’s World Cup victory in France. The USNWT last lost a match 44 games ago, so this feeling will certainly cause a reasonable amount of pain and panic in the camp. However, this is not the end of the road for the team with two teams going through from each group.

“I thought we were a little bit nervous, a bit tight, doing dumb stuff,” said forward Megan Rapinoe.

“It’s obvious we put ourselves in a big hole, but we’re the only ones who can get ourselves out of it. It’s not going to be easy. We’ve got to get positive results in the next two games, but the fact there is still a chance [means] I know this team is not going to give up,” read the reaction from Andonovski.

The two teams are battling it out in Group G, with Australia and New Zealand further facing off on the opening day from the same group. The former pulled off a 2-1 win with attacker Sam Kerr and midfielder Tameka Yallop getting the goals. Gabi Rennie scored a consolation goal for New Zealand.

Group E witnessed encounters between Great Britain and Chile on one end, with Japan and Canada facing off in the other group encounter. The opening match ended in a 2-0 win for the former, with the latter ending in a 1-1 draw.

Two encounters in Group F marked the conclusion of action on the opening day of footballing action in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The games were packed with goals, with Brazil defeating China 5-0 in the opener. This was followed by a 10-3 win for the Netherlands against Zambia. One could well witness more exciting results in the Tokyo Olympics.

Japan’s women’s softball team off to winning start

Hosts Japan kicked off the softball leg of the Tokyo 2020 with a 8-1 triumph against Australia. There was no audience, with the staff at the stadium applauding the opening match of the event in a polite manner. The United States defeated Italy 2-0 before Canada closed out Day 1 with a 4-0 victory over Mexico.