Hope Solo Slammed for Calling Swedish Soccer Team ‘Cowards’ After Olympic Loss

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“Sweden dropped off … I think it was very cowardly,” goaltender says after U.S. women’s team is sent home from Rio

Hope Solo Playing Soccer
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The United States women’s national soccer team got knocked out of the Rio Olympics Friday, and goalkeeper Hope Solo quickly let the world know how unhappy she was about it.

The controversial player went on a bitter rant against Sweden’s team after it eliminated the American squad from medals contention.

In the quarterfinal match, the two teams played to a 1-1 stalemate over 120 minutes, but Sweden edged the U.S. 4-3 in a shootout — and Solo did not take it well.

“I thought that we played a courageous game,” Solo said after the match, which marked the first time that the U.S. Women’s National Team has failed to make even the semifinals of a major tournament. “I thought that we had many opportunities on goal. I think we showed a lot of heart. We came back from a goal down; I’m very proud of this team.

“I also think we played a bunch of cowards. But, you know, the best team did not win today; I strongly, firmly believe that. I think you saw America’s heart. You saw us give everything that we had today. Unfortunately the better team didn’t win,” she continued, according to Sports Illustrated’s Grant Wahl.

“Sweden dropped off,” Solo claimed, referencing their coach Pia Sundhage. “They didn’t want to open play. They didn’t want to pass the ball. They didn’t want to play great soccer.

“I don’t think they’re going to make it far in the tournament. I think it was very cowardly. But they won, and we’re going home.”

Sweden, which had adopted a more defensive stance against the dominating U.S., now heads to the semifinals on Tuesday.

When asked for her reaction to Solo’s damning review of the match, Sundhage said, “It’s OK to be a coward if you win,” espnW reported.

“I don’t give a crap,” she also told reporters. “I’m going to Rio, she’s going home.”

Solo later thanked Wahl for his sensitive reporting and admitted, “Losing sucks. I’m really bad at it.”

Although she admitted to being a sore loser, Solo was still slammed on social media, with Keith Olbermann saying she “went out with the same class she showed beating up her relatives,” referencing her domestic violence arrest in June 2014, after she allegedly assaulted her sister and nephew.

See Solo’s full quotes via Wahl below, and the Twitter reactions.

https://twitter.com/KaivanShroff/status/764224780421718022

https://twitter.com/mmmtravis/status/764214635004211200

https://twitter.com/Hublife/status/764213963349299200

https://twitter.com/BarstoolRDT/status/764212063728177152

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