For the U.S. women’s national soccer team, no World Cup opponent is more familiar than Sweden, which the United States has faced in every edition of the tournament since 2003. But when the United States met the Swedes on Sunday in the round of 16, playing to a 0-0 draw before falling in a shootout, the typically dominant Americans were up against a wholly unfamiliar set of obstacles: injuries, internal questions and external scrutiny.
But it’s another, somewhat overlooked factor that may have doomed the United States in the end: a fresher opponent.
After topping Vietnam, 3-0, to open the tournament, the U.