The Women’s World Cup has served up a variety of upsets and thrills ahead of the quarter-finals, but it has also reminded the world just how thin the margins are in Australia and New Zealand
Sweden midfielder Kosovare Asllani had every reason not to hold back on Sunday evening.
The European nation were through to the Women’s World Cup quarter-finals. They were one step closer to avenging their 2019 World Cup semi-final loss in France. Most pressingly, however, was that they had just forced the reigning world champions USA to reschedule their flight home out of New Zealand â and simultaneously dished them their worst-ever Women’s World Cup finish in the history of the tournament.
Asllani, who had spent the better part of 80 minutes jostling with American defenders Naomi Girma and Julie Ertz, could, and arguably should, have gone to town on a country whose pre-tournament hype advertisement claimed the summer’s showpiece event was another inevitable chapter of USA vs the World. Instead, Asllani took the opportunity to defend the team she’d just helped dump out of the tournament.
“I wouldn’t say they’re out of the game at all,” a defiant Asllani informed media when queried on the future of the USWNT on the international stage. “I think you should be proud of your team. You have a really good team, and really good players, and they are taking on the fight not just on the pitch, but off it.