It was bad enough that the U.S. women's national team lost 3-0 to Sweden to open its Tokyo Olympics. But the way the USWNT lost made the result feel somehow worse and more significant. Now, the question USWNT fans will be asking -- and that the USWNT players might be asking themselves -- is whether that dismal performance was a one-off or a sign of deeper issues.
The U.S. faces New Zealand on Saturday (7:30 a.m. ET) in its second game of Group G, so there's not much time for the players to dwell on the search for answers.