United States

Hope Solo Calls Team Sweden ‘Cowards' After Loss

This has not been an Olympics to remember for U.S. women’s soccer goalkeeper Hope Solo — one that culminated Friday with a stunning shootout loss to Team Sweden that eliminated Team USA from medal contention.

After the game, Hope Solo had less-than-sportsmanlike words for the Swedish squad that just knocked off the favored U.S. team. She called them “cowards."

Here’s the full quote, with context:

She mentioned coward twice in a matter of moments, leaving a "sour grapes" taste in the mouths of many who heard or read it.

As for Team Sweden, it doesn't seem like Solo's comments phased them.

Sweden coach Pia Sundhage, who coached Team USA for five years that spanned two Olympic golds, said: "It's OK to be a coward if you win."

Solo later tweeted out the above quote from Grant Wahl, saying "Losing sucks. I'm really bad at it." She also provided an additional quote to Wahl as a means of clarifying what she meant.

For her part, Solo was taunted with “Zika” chants throughout the Games after she posted on social media about avoiding the virus in Brazil.

She then allowed a soft goal between her legs against Colombia in a 2-2 tie.

And then she stopped just one of five shots in the penalty shootout against Sweden, even after delaying play for a few moments before allowing the winning goal to change her gloves.

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