Lina Hurtig made history Sunday when her penalty kick pushed Sweden past the U.S. women’s national team in the Round of 16. Her game-winner sealed the USWNT’s earliest ever exit from a World Cup.

Now, some fans in Sweden are calling for Hurtig to get a tattoo of the iconic moment. Hurtig would be open to the idea, she said — but only if her team goes on to win its first World Cup title. First, Sweden has to knock off Japan in a quarterfinal matchup at 3:30 a.m. ET Friday.

“I’ve said that we have to beat Japan now, otherwise it’s all for nothing,” Hurtig said in an interview on Swedish radio. “But if we win gold it’s not impossible.”

Hurtig entered the game against the USWNT in the 81st minute, and then stepped up the line during penalty kicks with the teams knotted at 4.

Her kick did not come without controversy. USWNT goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher dove to her right and got both hands on the ball, then punched it away as it hurtled backward. But an image from FIFA’s goal-line technology showed the ball had crossed over the line by millimeters, triggering celebration for Sweden.

As the USWNT players sulked, Hurtig was mobbed by her teammates. Sweden has appeared in all nine Women’s World Cups but has never won the tournament.

“The (goal-line) picture I’ve seen a lot, the penalty not so much,” Hurtig said. “I don’t want to see it again, I get a little pain in my stomach actually, there’s so many feelings that come up when I see it.”

Sophia Smith introduced herself to the World Cup in style: The 23-year-old forward scored twice in the U.S. women’s national team’s first game of the tournament, a 3-0 win over Vietnam.

It proved to be a high point, for both Smith and the USWNT. She went scoreless over the team’s next three games, which ended with a Round of 16 defeat to Sweden in penalty kicks. Smith was one of three U.S. players to miss the net in the penalty shootout, and the experience has left her with mixed emotions.

“Heartbroken,” she wrote in an Instagram post. “This World Cup was filled with just about every emotion possible, what I’ve learned is more valuable than any experience I’ve ever had.”

Smith, also a star for the Portland Thorns — she was named the youngest MVP in NWSL history last season — is considered by many to be the next face of the program. The USWNT’s leading scorer in 2022, she will likely be called on to help lead the team at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

Part of that process will be evaluating what went wrong in this World Cup, which started with so much promise before ending in disappointment.

“Thank you to those who believed and supported us throughout the tournament, and most importantly to those who still do and never stopped,” Smith wrote. “It wouldn’t be life without moments like this, and I know without a doubt we will be back and hungrier than ever.”

Former USWNT captain Carli Lloyd understands the feeling. Lloyd, who had been critical of the program during its World Cup run as a Fox Sports analyst, offered Smith some advice in a social media video. Lloyd noted that she had missed a penalty kick as the USWNT lost to Japan in 2011 World Cup final, before going on to win World Cup titles in 2015 and 2019.

“Flash forward to 2015. There were some important PKs that I had to make on that stage, and I did,” Lloyd said. “I want you to know that your future’s bright, that you’re going to keep going, you’re going to keep shining, and you’re going to keep doing amazing. So don’t stop.”

The U.S. women’s national team delivered a strong performance in the Round of 16 despite losing to Sweden 5-4 in a penalty shootout. But the stinging defeat will leave fans to dissect what went wrong in the World Cup.

The USWNT struggled in the group stage, defeating Vietnam in its opener but then playing the Netherlands and Portugal to draws. Coach Vlatko Andonovski’s team finished second in Group E, making their path to the World Cup final more difficult. That included Sunday’s matchup against Sweden, the USWNT’s longtime rivals.

“You have to show up from the start of a World Cup,” said Carli Lloyd, the former USWNT captain turned FOX Sports analyst. “There’s no games off. There’s no days off. And they could’ve put away chances throughout that group stage. They could’ve capitalized on wins and not going second in the group and all these different scenarios.”

Andonovski’s future will be questioned after the program’s earliest ever World Cup exit. Andonovski took over the USWNT in 2019 from Jill Ellis, who had led the team to consecutive World Cup titles.

“From 2019, we didn’t see a whole lot of change throughout the squad,” Lloyd said. “It’s just been kind of the same recurring themes: How are we creating chances? How are we finishing chances? And it’s many years of this. I don’t think the tactical question marks we’ve all had have just sprung up this World Cup and this group stage. So I think there’s definitely some tactical questions that need to be asked and a lot of evaluating.”

Lloyd, a two-time World Cup champion, has consistently criticized the USWNT’s performance throughout the tournament, leading some of her former teammates — including Abby Wambach and Ali Krieger — to come to the team’s defense.

“They should be proud of today’s performance,” Lloyd said. “But this is also going to be a very big learning curve for all of those players.”

The U.S. women’s national team likely will have a different feel when the 2024 Olympics kick off in Paris in 12 months. Megan Rapinoe and Julie Ertz already have announced the end of their international careers, and several more veterans will have to make decisions in the coming months.

One up-and-coming player almost certain to be on the roster for the Summer Games is Naomi Girma, who made her World Cup debut this year. USWNT co-captain Lindsey Horan was among those impressed by the 23-year-old center-back.

“Look at how incredible Naomi was this entire tournament,” Horan said. “First World Cup, and she’s one the best players on the team.”

A defender for the San Diego Wave, Girma debuted for the USWNT in April 2022 in an international friendly against Uzbekistan. She also earned a cap in the 2022 CONCACAF W Championship before cementing her spot on the World Cup team.

In the USWNT’s 3-0 win over Vietnam to open the World Cup group stage, Girma lobbed a ball into the box to Morgan, who then assisted on a goal for Sophia Smith. At center-back, Girma paired with Ertz to create the foundation of a backline that allowed just one shot on goal in the team’s defeat to Sweden in penalty kicks.

Girma started all four games at her first major tournament. And she is part of a core of young stars expected to lead the USWNT into its next phase.

“Nay plays like she’s 30,” Horan said. “I don’t understand, first World Cup and she’s one of the best players on the team.”

The U.S. women’s national team’s World Cup run might have ended earlier than expected, but expectations will remain high for the program.

Head coach Vlatko Andonovoski is optimistic for the future of the USWNT, with players such as Sophia Smith, Trinity Rodman, Naomi Girma, Emily Fox and Andi Sullivan – all of whom started in the elimination match against Sweden in their first World Cup – leading the way.

“These are players that will be here for years to come, for tournaments to come,” Andonovski said. “This tournament is a great experience for them, and I think they’ll dominate the next one together.”

Smith, 22, scored two goals in the team’s 3-0 win over Vietnam in its tournament opener. Girma, 23, and Fox, 25, started every match as part of a backline that surrendered just one goal over four World Cup games, and Sullivan, 27, did the same in the midfield. Rodman, 21, started three of four matches as a winger.

After the stunning early exit, there are sure to be some changes for the USWNT. Julie Ertz, for instance, announced she had likely played her last game after the team’s loss to Sweden in the Round of 16. Megan Rapinoe is set to retire after the 2023 season, and the future remains uncertain for veterans Alex Morgan, Kelley O’Hara and Crystal Dunn. The same goes for Andonovski after the USWNT’s earliest ever exit from the World Cup.

But the coach is confident in the future of the program and its young players.

“This team has a very bright future and I’m glad we could give them the opportunity we did,” Andonovski said.

Holding back tears, Julie Ertz dropped a bombshell in an interview with FOX Sports in the moments after the U.S. women’s national team’s loss to Sweden in the Round of 16.

“For me, it’s emotional, because it’s probably my last game ever, being able to have the honor to wear this crest,” Ertz said. “It’s just tough. I feel like it’s just an emotional time.”

She confirmed to ESPN that she plans to retire from the USWNT, saying, “Unfortunately this is my last time in this crest.” The two-time World Cup champion finishes her international career with 122 appearances and 20 goals.

Ertz helped the USWNT to World Cup titles in 2015 and 2019. Coach Vlatko Andonovski surprisingly moved Ertz from midfield to center-back for this World Cup. After returning to the team earlier this year from maternity leave, she helped sustain a backline that surrendered just one goal over four games.

Ertz, who was named U.S. Soccer Player of the Year in 2019, said she hopes she will leave behind a legacy of “grit” with the national team.

“Kelley (O’Hara) always says that we just rent these jerseys and it’s our job to pass these down to the younger ones to continue that in their DNA,” she said.

The USWNT’s run ended in heartbreaking fashion, with a 5-4 defeat in penalty kicks and Sweden’s final shot crossing the goal line by less than a centimeter. Prior to Sunday, the U.S. had never lost earlier than the World Cup semifinals.

“It absolutely sucks,” Ertz said. “Penalties are the worst. But it’s an honor to represent this teams and I’m excited for the future of the girls.”

Ertz, 31, signed with Angel City in April and has played in seven games for the club as a midfielder. Though her time with the USWNT might be complete, Ertz still has plenty to offer the game.

“It’s been an absolute ride,” she said. “I’ve learned so much about myself as a player, but even as a person. This team obviously competes and plays soccer, but it does so much more, and I’m just very grateful.”

In addition to Megan Rapinoe, who announced her intention to retire after the 2023 season, this was possibly the final World Cup for several USWNT veterans including Alex Morgan, Kelley O’Hara and Crystal Dunn.

San Diego Wave head coach Casey Stoney is not afraid to speak her mind. On Saturday the NWSL announced Stoney had been fined, for the third time this season, for comments “detrimental to the league,” the NWSL announced Friday.

The league cited the violation of Section 12.2.5 (e) “Prejudicial Statements and Public Criticism” of the League Operations Manual.

Stoney’s latest comments came after the Waves’ 1-0 loss to the OL Reign on July 28. Asked about the broken nose midfielder Taylor Kornieck sustained during the defeat, Stoney did not hold back. Kornieck was hit hard twice during the game, the second time triggering blood from her nose.

“How that girl goes through game after game after game with absolutely no protection. What’s it going to take, what is it going to take?” Stoney said. “How hurt does she have to get before somebody starts protecting her? Because I can’t keep watching this girl who goes out every week just because of her size.”

The 6-foot-1 Kornieck, who in 2022 became the tallest player in U.S. Women’s National Team history to earn a cap, has scored one goal this season. The Wave are 6-3-6 and are winless in their last eight games.

“She touches anybody and it’s a foul and she gets no protection,” Stoney said of Kornieck. “Every week she gets fouled, dangerously fouled. How many head injuries, how many knocks to the head is she going to take before somebody does something? Because at some point she’s going to stop playing the game because there’s only so much you can take. And somebody from the league has to keep looking and saying, ‘Well, what’s going on here?’ Because she needs some protection.

Stoney was last fined July 14 because of a tweet. Stoney had tweeted a clip of the Wave’s match against the Washington Spirit with the comment: “Investment in technology. You decide.”

Abby Dahlkemper looks back on her time with the North Carolina Courage with mixed feelings. In 2017, Dahlkemper was named NWSL Defender of the Year and then helped the team win the NWSL Championship the following season.

But Dahlkemper said on The RE-CAP Show that those years now feel “grimy.” The Courage were coached by Paul Riley, who was banned from the NWSL for life in 2023 after revelations of sexual and verbal abuse.

“Doesn’t take away from the success I had, or our team had, but it does feel a little heavy for me,” she said. “Wishing it could’ve been for a better human.”

Riley was fired from the Courage in September 2021 after a report in The Athletic detailed his abuse from 2011-15.

“When you’re in the situation and you’re kind of getting a little gaslighted, you’re not really realizing what’s happening,” Dahlkemper said. “It’s hard to notice the bad behavior and what’s happening.”

Christen Press, co-host of the The RE-CAP Show alongside fellow USWNT veteran Tobin Heath, noted she endured a similar situation playing for the Chicago Red Stars under then-coach Rory Dames.

“It was an abusive and toxic environment the whole time, and I didn’t even know it,” Press said. “I have this whole complex of, I can’t leave the girls, I can’t leave the girls. I tried to fix everything from the inside. I thought I was the one who could stand up.”

Press eventually asked Dames to be traded because of his treatment and filed a formal complaint against him with US Soccer.

Dames was also banned from the league for life, along with Christy Holly and Richie Burke.

Press said it feels like players are living on a “knife’s edge,” because of the financial rewards tied to playing for the U.S. Women’s National Team. And than can be a disincentive for players to speak out against coaches.

“Scoring goals in club, meant I got to go into camp, which means I actually have a job that I can support myself with,” she said. “We’re, like, living in this world where, anything that goes awry, it feels like it’s going to take our whole dream away.”

The U.S. Women’s National Team faces a stiff test in the Round of 16 against Sweden. The teams last played in the group stage at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, with Sweden earning the 3-0 victory.

If the USWNT can atone for that defeat and advance to the World Cup quarterfinal, things will hardly get easier. Coach Vlatko Andonovski’s team would then play Japan, which defeated Norway, 3-1, in its Round of 16 match on Saturday.

For all of the USWNT’s struggles in the group stage, Japan was dominant, out-scoring its opponents 11-0 en route to three victories.

Japan outshot Norway, 16-8, on Saturday and controlled possession for 61 percent of the game. Hinata Miyazawa iced the game for Japan with a goal in the 81st minute, her fifth of the World Cup.

Spain was also victorious on Saturday, defeating Switzerland, 5-1. Should the USWNT advance to the semifinal round, it would play either Spain or the winner of Netherlands/South Africa. But first, Andovoski’s team needs to get past Sweden.

“For everyone who wants to see more, we promise we’re going to do everything we can,” Andovoski said. “We are preparing ourselves the best that we can to provide success and meet the expectations. But first and foremost, we want to make sure we meet our own expectations.”

The U.S. Women’s National Team understands what’s at stake.

Coach Vlatko Andonovski’s team advanced to the Round of the 16 – it will play Sweden on Sunday – despite not playing its best in the group stage. Co-captain Alex Morgan believes the team has learned from what went wrong and is eager to prove itself against Sweden.

“I think we’ve broken down what went wrong, how we can fix that, in possession, out of possession, how we can capitalize on the chances we have in front of goal, how we can create more chances in front of goal, how I can put away the chances that I’m given,” Morgan told reporters.

The USWNT has endured harsh criticism from fans and experts in the wake of its 0-0 draw against Portugal in the final game of the group stage. The two-time defending World Cup champion would’ve been eliminated from the tournament with a defeat.

“There’s no sugarcoating it, we had a bad game,” Morgan said. “And we are lucky. We have moved on from that and are looking forward to this match. We’ve prepared every second we possibly could in creating the most chances, on limiting [Sweden] in chances, and I feel very motivated for the match.”

Morgan scored six goals in the 2019 World Cup but hasn’t found the back of the net yet. But Morgan believes she and her teammates will make the necessary adjustments for a stronger showing against the No. 3-ranked team in the world.

“It hasn’t been the tournament that I would have hoped,” Morgan said. “But at the same time, having this incredible opportunity in front of us in the round of 16, facing Sweden, a team we know extremely well, I think there’s no question we are highly motivated to play this game.”