⚽️ USA, Sweden Built Up Years Of On-Field Animosity

The USWNT and Sweden have years of tension making the meeting Sunday fascinating. [View in browser]( [FOX SPORTS INSIDER WITH MARTIN ROGERS] In today’s FOX Sports Insider with Martin Rogers: Sweden and the USWNT have both ratcheted up the tension in recent head-to-head matches … The U.S. is very familiar with Sweden, so what is the scouting report on one of the best at the World Cup? … and more! The cheery relationship between the United States and Sweden's women's soccer teams might have started to go south in 2015, when former U.S. head coach Pia Sundhage, after heading home to take her native country's national team job, spoke out of turn about some of her ex-players on the American team. It certainly veered into dicey territory after Hope Solo's post-game comments. Angered and frustrated by the USWNT's penalty kicks exit to the Swedes in the 2016 Olympics, Solo was as ungracious a loser as you can be, describing the opponent as a "bunch of cowards" for its defensive gameplan. Perhaps things shifted when Sweden got irked when the USWNT mentioned "playing seven games" to the media — meaning they expected to reach the final — before the sides met in 2019. Or maybe time has just moved on in women's soccer, and the old days of communal friendship and smiley camaraderie don't really exist in the same way anymore. Whatever it is, the two teams that meet each other in the most anticipated of this World Cup's round of 16 clashes on Sunday (coverage begins at 4 a.m. ET, with kickoff at 5 a.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app), don't like each other much anymore. Too much has happened. The stakes are too high now. There's a lot of water under the bridge, and we're not talking about the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The game's in Melbourne, anyway, this showdown between a Sweden squad that's absolutely flying and a USA group that could have easily been flying home. Perhaps it is just what the current team needs to shake itself into life after a tepid group stage performance, once again serving as the ultimate reminder that the USWNT is no longer the big bully on the world stage. For the rest of the story, [click here.]( [STORY IMAGE 1] [IN OTHER WORDS] - Sweden has the potential to give the United States all sorts of problems when the two teams go head-to-head on Sunday. Doug McIntyre [breaks down the match](. - Under the pressure of trying to win an historic third straight World Cup, the Americans say they need to [remember that the game should be fun](. Doug McIntyre has the story. - Always the team to beat, the U.S. will be in a new position Sunday against Sweden. Could the [Americans benefit from their new underdog role]( Martin Rogers examines the situation. - Make no mistake: This will still surely be the two-time defending champions' most difficult opponent so far. But it's also a matchup that, in a funny way, [could actually be more comfortable for them]( writes Doug McIntyre. For the latest news and updates, [click here.]( [VIEWER'S GUIDE] Toronto Blue Jays at Boston Red Sox (Saturday, FS1, 4:10 p.m. ET) The Blue Jays and Red Sox collide with both teams hoping to earn a key win as the sprint towards October continues. Los Angeles Dodgers at San Diego Padres (Saturday, FS1, 8:40 p.m. ET) In a game full of some of the brightest stars in baseball, the Dodgers and Padres battle in a divisional showdown. United States vs Sweden (Sunday, FOX, 5 a.m. ET) After a disappointing group stage effort, the United States looks to continue on its quest for a three-peat at the World Cup. Los Angeles Dodgers at San Diego Padres (Sunday, ESPN, 7:10 p.m. ET) The Padres send strikeout king Blake Snell to the mound to face the division rival Dodgers in San Diego. For all of today's games and scores, [click here](. [BET OF THE DAY] Odds provided by [FOX Bet]( United States vs. Sweden: UNDER 2.5 goals scored combined (-165) From FOX Sports Wagering Expert: Chris Fallica I mentioned before how I hate being on an obvious side. I broke my rule when I backed the U.S. to win versus Portugal and then when I picked Norway to beat Switzerland. The results were predictable. Now the U.S. – who everyone is bad-mouthing, has looked poor on the attack in the group stage, will be without Rose Lavelle and was dominated 3-0 by Sweden at the Olympics – is favored! I can’t wait to see the betting splits here – it’s going to be one-way action on Sweden. And ultimately maybe it will play out that way. Logically, based on what we’ve seen so far, it should. I’m holding a Sweden to win the trophy ticket, so that's a good enough reason for me not to double down. I feel far more confident that the U.S. — which has allowed one shot on goal in three games – will absorb pressure, allow Sweden to have most of the ball and look for one chance. It all adds up to a low-scoring game and while Under 2.5 goals is -165, that's the way I’m playing it. For the latest betting odds, [click here](. [FOLLOW FOX SPORTS] [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [YouTube]( [Instagram]( Download FOX Sports App: [Fire TV]( [Roku]( [Google Play]( [App Store]( [Fire TV]( [Roku]( [App Store]( [Google Play]( Also available on these devices: [fireTV | AppleTV | ROKU | Google Chromecast | XBOX ONE | SAMSUNG Smart TV | Vizio | LG Smart TV] [fireTV | AppleTV | ROKU | Google Chromecast | XBOX ONE | SAMSUNG Smart TV | Vizio | LG Smart TV] Trademark & Copyright Notice: ™ and © 2023 Fox Media LLC and FOX Sports Interactive Media, LLC. All rights reserved. Please do not reply to this message. If you do not wish to receive emails like this in the future, please [unsubscribe](. 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