LE HAVRE, France -- The U.S. women's soccer team will go into their match Thursday with revenge on the mind.
They play Sweden at 3 p.m., and it's the first time these two teams have played since the 2016 Summer Olympics, when Sweden knocked the U.S. out of the quarterfinals.
So things are about to get tougher for Team USA. They already have a spot in the knockout stage, but in this game, the top spot in Group F is on the line.
With a win or a tie the U.S. leaves Group F as the winner, and would face Spain at noon on Monday in the Round of 16. If the U.S. loses, they will face Canada at 3pm on Monday.
So what's the team thinking right now? “You know, our mentality is obviously we know that we’re facing a better team that we’ve played, but no, nothing’s changed. We’re exactly where we need to be. We are playing the way we need to play. And regardless of the teams we just played, Chile and Thailand, we kept good habits. For us it’s about playing the way we want to play, and obviously preparing us for this game coming up, and we don’t need to change anything. We just need to continue on this path we’re on,” says Crystal Dunn.
Sweden and the U.S. are similarly matched -- mentally, physically, and both teams have players at the same experience level.
Because of this, U.S. coach Jill Ellis is expected to go back to their all-star lineup with top goal scorers Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe, and Carli Lloyd.
You can watch the game live on Fox 4 in Southwest Florida.
