Why USA could be at physical disadvantage vs. Sweden in Round of 16
Sweden head coach Peter Gerhardsson admitted he was weighing up the option of giving his team a significant physical and psychological edge ahead of its likely Round of 16 clash with the United States at the Women's World Cup.
With a three-point lead and a drastic goal differential advantage heading into its final Group G clash — against Argentina in Hamilton (coverage begins at 2 a.m. ET, with kickoff at 3 a.m. on FOX) — Gerhardsson can afford to consider the luxury of resting some, or even all, of his key starters.
[Read more: What's next for USA? Mapping out its daunting path to Women's World Cup final]
That would allow extra recuperation ahead of what will be, barring a bizarre combination of results, a Sunday knockout round meeting with the struggling Americans (coverage begins at 3 a.m. ET, with kickoff at 5 a.m. on FOX), who played second in Group E and lost to Sweden at each of the past two Olympic tournaments.
"I'm not thinking of any obvious starting 11 when I'm talking to the medical team," Gerhardsson told reporters. "If there is anything in terms of strains or something that, we need to make sure, as we're going to play (again) on Sunday.
"You should never assume when you have won that you have the perfect starting 11. We are focused already on the last 16 because that is the match we need to win to progress, and so that means we need to see how to get the players in optimum condition for it.
"There might be minor injuries, for example, which means we're going to have to have a second look and see what kind of team will play on Sunday."
Alexi Lalas' power rankings ft. Japan, Sweden and the USWNT | 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup
Even if Italy was to beat South Africa on Wednesday and a weakened Sweden lost to Argentina, Gerhardsson's squad still has a +10 goal differential to lean upon at the top of the group, making a USA collision course all but certain.
In Sweden, eyes are already wandering ahead to the USWNT game and experts have been stunned by the uncharacteristic shakiness of the American team.
"America hasn't even been hungry," Bojan Djordjic, former Manchester United winger and Sweden men's youth international, said on Viaplay. "It's up to all the big stars to prove it now. This has not been good, I myself have sat here and been disappointed."
[Read more: Portugal draw makes it clear: The world no longer fears the USWNT]
While the USA had to cling on to its place in the tournament by scraping through against Portugal, Sweden's most recent encounter was a 5-0 walloping of Italy, a performance that served notice that the Olympic silver medalist means business.
A mightily accomplished attacking unit including Stina Blackstenius, Kosovare Asllani and Fridolina Rolfo, who play their club soccer for Arsenal, A.C. Milan and Barcelona respectively, will provide a stern test for the American backline.
Especially if, as expected, Gerhardsson rings enough changes to ensure fresh Swedish legs on Sunday.
Martin Rogers is a columnist for FOX Sports and the author of the FOX Sports Insider newsletter. Follow him on Twitter @MRogersFOX and subscribe to the daily newsletter.
