The US has endured a difficult Women's World Cup so far, winning just once and scraping through the group stage, but has nonetheless made it to the round-of-16 where it will face Sweden at 5 a.m. ET on Sunday.
Already, the US has been the width of a goalpost away from crashing out the Women's World Cup as Portugal almost scored a late winner in the last match of the group stage, which ultimately ended a goalless draw.
That draw, coupled with a 1-1 draw against the Netherlands earlier in the competition, consigned the US to a second-place finish in its group, creating a harder route through the knockout stages and making the ultimate aim of winning the World Cup for a third successive time, a historic 'three-peat,' even more difficult.
Such frailties are a world away from the all-conquering US teams of 2015 and 2019; it is the first time that the US has won just one group stage match -- no side has ever reached the Women's World Cup final after winning just once in their group.
World No.3 Sweden, on the other hand, sailed through its group with ease. It defeated South Africa, Italy and Argentina, scoring nine goals along the way -- five of them against Italy -- and conceding just once.
"We have reasonable respect for every team that we play, but we know that we can win this game, and that's the feeling that permeates through us right now," Sweden's coach Peter Gerhardsson told reporters on Saturday.
How to watch
In the US, the match will air on your local Fox channel. You can also stream matches by signing in with your TV provider at foxsports.com or on the Fox Sports app. Telemundo and Peacock are providing Spanish-language coverage.
Seven Network and Optus Sport are broadcasting matches in Australia and the BBC and ITV have the rights in the United Kingdom.
A full breakdown of media rights holders in each country is available on the FIFA website.
