Asllani, Sweden Lose To Canada On Penalties In Olympics Final

Sweden weren’t able to cap off an excellent Olympics, losing to Canada on penalties after both teams scored in regular time to make it 1-1.

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Sweden manager Peter Gerhardsson went with the expected eleven and formation, but curiously had Sofia Jakobsson and Fridolina Rolfö swap flanks. This allowed Rolfö to be more consistently involved and she put in quality deliveries to Sofia Jakobsson making blind-side runs at the back post, though it’s debatable whether this was worth the change.

In general, Sweden had the better of play over ninety minutes. Canada’s double pivot caused their opponents to sit off the press, but the Blågult comfortably generated turnovers from a more passive stance. In fact, this was how they scored their only goal of the game, with Kosovare Asllani doing well to beat pressure and feed Stina Blackstenius.

Asllani was probably Sweden’s best player on the day and was the one taking over in extra time.

However, Canada put together a nice spell of pressure to start the second and eventually got level after winning a penalty.

Sweden looked rattled and struggled to break down Canada’s committed box-defending, eventually failing to convert on a handful of chances once their dominance peaked in extra time.

Both teams looked nervous on penalties. Asllani missed the first spot kick of the game but was promptly saved by Ashley Lawrence, who went second. Canada would proceed to botch two more penalties, putting Caroline Seger in a position to convert the decider. Instead, she sent her shot over the bar, followed by a poor attempt from Jonna Andersson, allowing Julia Grosso to become the hero and gift Canada gold.