TOKYO — The United States women’s national team got blown out the other night, 3-zip to Sweden. The game wasn’t even that close. It stunk.
“It was crap,” midfielder Lindsay Horan said.
What followed was an onslaught of criticism, rare for a team that almost never loses.
It came from fans frustrated by the team's play and concerned about its chances here at the Tokyo Olympics. It came from the media, who picked apart the poor performance. And it came from detractors who for whatever reason, mostly political, don’t like them and were reveling in the loss.