da marjack bet： The coach of the defending champion side again came up short with his in-game tactics, and it would be stunning if he were to keep his job

da doce： For the first time in Women's World Cup history, the United States women's national team will not be playing in the semi-finals. In fact, the reigning champion will not even be in the quarter-finals, a penalty shootout defeat to Sweden in the last 16 on Sunday officially making this the powerhouse's worst-ever tournament. It's the latest unwanted milestone that Vlatko Andonovski's side have claimed in what has been a truly awful few weeks in Australia and New Zealand.

After only qualifying from Group E by the skin of its teeth, racking up a worst-ever points tally in the process, the USWNT actually looked much better in this knockout meeting with Sweden, Emily Sonnett moving into midfield to shore things up while the backline again looked solid, conceding very few chances.

But it was at the other end of the pitch where things were lacking, as Lindsey Horan, Trinity Rodman and Alex Morgan were all denied in an inspired performance from Sweden goalkeeper Zecira Musovic. Her reactions were incredible throughout the game while the U.S. failed to make its dominance count, its threat going forward waning as the game went on.

Penalties it was, then, and though Musovic had been exceptional all evening, she wasn't required here. Sophia Smith, Megan Rapinoe and Kelley O'Hara, who had touched the ball just three times after coming on as a very late substitute in order to take a spot-kick, all missed the target from 12 yards, giving Lina Hurtig the chance to be the hero. It was a chance she just about took, her winning effort eventually confirmed as being over the line by not much more than a millimetre despite Alyssa Naeher getting a strong hand to it.

It's Sweden, then, that progress to the quarter-finals, set to take on Japan. Meanwhile, it's time for the USWNT to do some soul-searching after the worst Women's World Cup in history for the four-time winners.

GOAL breaks down the winners & losers from Melbourne Rectangular Stadium…

Getty ImagesLOSER: Vlatko Andonovski

Andonovski's tenure as USWNT boss must only have days left, if that, after these truly shocking few weeks. The head coach has been questioned throughout this tournament, with his team selection often leaving a lot to be desired and his in-game management doing the same.

On Sunday, he appeared to all-but-nail the former, the decision to bring Sonnett into the midfield making the U.S. look much more solid after it had been an area of weakness for the first three games. However, he again made very few changes to the team throughout the evening, only one substitution coming before the end of the 90 minutes as the USWNT failed to make its dominance of the ball count.

Smith continued to look limited out wide, too, but it wasn't until midway through extra-time that Andonovski moved her into a central role, which was particularly baffling given how much Morgan struggled to get into the game there. The only other substitutions made were moments before the penalty shootout, as Kristie Mewis and O'Hara came on to take spot-kicks. It's always a risky tactic and it didn't pay off in the latter's case.

That the USWNT crashed out having scored just once since opening with a 3-0 win over Vietnam was completely inexplicable given the attacking talent Andonovski had at his disposal. He didn't find the right formula or get those stars to click in the final third, and that was another failure that is almost certainly going to cost him his job.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesWINNER: Zecira Musovic

Maker of 11 saves in Melbourne, Musovic was absolutely incredible to help her stuttering team stay in the game and eventually progress to the quarter-finals.

Sweden were poor on Sunday. They struggled to keep the ball, they didn't create enough chances and they invited a lot of pressure onto themselves. Fortunately for them, though, Musovic was on top form to keep the USWNT at bay. Her save to deny Horan, who caught the ball so sweetly from an Emily Fox cross, was one of the best seen at this tournament.

She was the Player of the Match. Easily.

GettyLOSER: Megan Rapinoe

Rapinoe is a two-time World Cup winner, an Olympic gold medallist and one of the greatest players ever to represent the USWNT. That her career for her country ended with her missing a penalty, then, was cruel.

We've been reminded over the past few weeks that football can indeed be cruel. In the group stages, it was Christine Sinclair and Marta who bowed out on this huge stage in underwhelming fashion. In the last 16, Rapinoe has followed them.

With the winger failing to impress in her appearances in the tournament, too, it's been anything but a dream of a 'last dance' for an icon of the sport.

Getty ImagesWINNER: Sweden

Sweden have come close to major tournament glory time and time again. Only two years ago, they were on the wrong end of a huge penalty shootout result, losing to Canada in the Olympic gold medal match. The team picked up a silver medal in 2016 in Rio, came third at the 2019 Women's World Cup and were semi-finalists again at the Euros in England last year.

They have a lot of pedigree, then, and know-how when it comes to navigating these tournaments, and while they were certainly nowhere near their best on Sunday in this victory, such a dramatic triumph is sure to give them a lot of confidence moving forward as they finally try to end that wait for glory.