Swedish stars zoom in on their phones to see the goal line the US won on penalties at the World Cup as they celebrate in jubilant dressing room scenes
Swedish stars were pictured zooming in on the goal line of the penalty kick that saw the team knock out the USA at the World Cup as they celebrated their dramatic win in the Melbourne locker room.
Lina Huryig’s winning penalty appeared to have been saved by Alyssa Naeher, but the ball shot into the air and spun backwards. Naeher desperately clawed the ball away, but only after going a few millimeters over the line for a goal.
The officials had to refer to goal-line technology to find out if the ball had gone over, and the replay showed that the US had been painfully beaten by the narrowest possible margin.
But as the USWNT cried on the field, Sweden took to the locker room to celebrate the defending champion being sent home and the team’s stars could be seen on their phones to find out just how close the tiebreaker was.
In some of the most iconic images of the tournament to date, the Swedish players even had to zoom in on their iPhones to see that the entire ball had crossed the line.
Swedish players were seen zooming in on the goal line rating where the team beat the USA
It was the narrowest possible margin that gave the team a World Cup victory on penalties
The players laughed and joked as they celebrated an incredible victory
Swedish players were seen jumping onto tables to sing and cheer with each other as the magnitude of their victory sank in.
The match had finished 0–0 after extra time, with the USA posting an improved performance in the three group matches.
But it was Sweden that kept their spirits up when it came to penalties – Megan Rapinoe and Sofia Smith both missed penalties for the Americans.
Sweden now plays against Japan in the last eight of the competition. Swedish goalkeeper Zecira Musovic was the star of the win – she made 11 saves in the match itself.
“I have no words for words,” she said. “I don’t know what to say except I’m extremely proud that we held on against an extremely strong US that pushed for 120 minutes. We’re not going home yet.
‘We know what we are capable of. We knew we were up against a really good team and we had to put in a good performance, which we did.
“I’m extremely proud of the girls and what we achieved tonight, because a lot of people thought that wasn’t possible.”
As for the US, the heartbreaking way they rubbed salt in the wounds.
“We just lost the World Cup by a millimeter. That’s tough,” goalkeeper Naeher said after the game.
“Coming up short hurts. It will hurt for a long time.’