U.S. Women's World Cup exit review: Andonovski, injuries, more - ESPN

MELBOURNE, Australia — The reign of the U.S. women's national team as Women's World Cup champions is officially over, as a millimeter was all that separated a Lina Hurtig penalty shootout tally for Sweden from an Alyssa Naeher save. You have to go back 12 years, when Japan defeated the U.S. in the 2011 Women's World Cup final, to find the last time the U.S. was eliminated from a World Cup. This time, it marked the earliest exit from a World Cup in the program's history.

In some ways, the end of the U.S. team's two-tournament run as World Cup winners was a shock, coming as it did on the night when the Americans delivered by far their best performance of the tournament. But in other ways, the defeat was a long time coming, with cracks in the U.S. team's dominance evident even before the Women's World Cup.

Here are the factors that contributed to the USWNT's demise.

The U.S. wasn't the only country to encounter injuries — England was without four key players, and France had several out — so the U.S. can't cite injuries alone for its exit. But the USWNT would have had a stronger team if its players had been healthier.

Mal Swanson, Catarina Macario, Becky Sauerbrunn and Samantha Mewis all were missed as probable starters. Before Swanson's injury, she had accounted for most of the USWNT's goals on her own. Had she been at the World Cup, she could've made a difference for this team, which collectively struggled to put balls in the back of the net. — Carlisle

The injuries and roster issues are intertwined to a degree. While the defense performed well despite Sauerbrunn's absence, the ripple effect meant that Julie Ertz wasn't available in midfield. From there, Vlatko Andonovski had limited options, though some of his decisions