Olympic champions, the United States managed just a single goal in a hard fought win over the Sweden women’s team during a warm up match ahead of the Beijing Olympic games.
Carli Lloyd got a lucky deflected shot after beating three defenders, before Saea Thunebro’s leg got in the way and scored an own goal to put the US ahead in the 39th minute of this Olympic warm up match.
“Yeah, it was a deflection, but it’s always exciting to score a goal,” said Lloyd, who scored in the 4-0 victory over Norway three days earlier. “I just wanted to help the team win.”
The US, who were playing their first game under their Swedish coach, Pia Sundhage – herself a former Olympian – have won 16 times against the Swedes and lost only four times, with five draws.
“Of course you gain some confidence, but we [were] working on some tactical stuff,” she said. “At halftime, it was nice to hear the players say they need to challenge themselves … “