With tears in her eyes, Megan Rapinoe tried to comfort her distraught teammates. But the world-renowned USA star was just as overcome by her emotions. The defending champion and record winner lost to Sweden in the round of 16 at the World Cup – dramatically.
In the 4:5 (0:0, 0:0) penalty shoot-out, Lina Hurtig’s decisive Swedish goal was checked using goal-line technology, the ball was only just behind the line. Now the Swede could immortalize her shot with a tattoo, but only if her country wins the World Cup, the Guardian reports.
The Swedes celebrated their coup exuberantly, in the regular season they were clearly inferior. Only with great difficulty and thanks to the strong goalkeeper Zecira Musovic Sweden saved themselves on penalties.
The reactions from home then ranged from congratulations to a suggestion that she should have the viral image of the penalty kick tattooed at the moment the goal-line was crossed. “I said that we now have to beat Japan (the next opponent of the Swedish team; editor’s note), otherwise everything will be in vain,” Hurtig is quoted as saying by the “Guardian”. “But if we win gold, that’s not impossible. “
The quarter-finals are against Japan on Friday (9.30 a.m. CEST). “I’m so happy, I don’t know how we did it, we fought as a team,” said Hurtig’s teammate Magdalena Eriksson in the ARD game broadcast. The song “Dancing Queen” by Sweden’s most famous band ABBA was then played in the stadium.
Sources: “Guardian”, DPA
