12:58 The US women’s team had a particularly poor start at the Olympics in Japan. The group champion and world champion lost the first group match 3-0 to Sweden. This can be annoying to the orange ducks.
Sweden showed their best team on Asian soil and took the lead midway through the first half. Surprisingly, Stina Blackstenius gave the Swedes a 1-0 lead. However, it didn’t stop there because after tea the attacker hit again. To make matters worse, America also scored 3-0 through Lena Hurtig.
The fact that American ladies lose can be called a special match. The world champion has not lost in 44 consecutive matches. It is very painful for national coach Vlatko Andonovsky that this very rare defeat was incurred at the Games. The United States also plays New Zealand and Australia in the group stage.
Orange lionesses will also watch for performances in this group. National coach Sarina Wegmann’s side will almost certainly play against a team from this group. However, Holland must first try to survive with its own group. This afternoon, the Orange team will play Zambia, followed by matches against Brazil and China.
