If one thought that "mind games" were only a thing seen in men's football - with Chelsea's Jose Mourinho really enjoying making his fare share of snide comments - think again. As the women's game continues to grow in prominence, followers will see coaches and players engaging in the same mental tactical battle prior to big clashes in order to rattle their opponents.
With Australia, the USWNT, Sweden, and Nigeria all placed in Group D, this quartet has been earmarked as this World Cup's toughest group. Three out of the three squads - USA, Sweden, and Australia - are all among the top ten sides in women's football, meaning that scores like the 10-0 drubbing Germany handed the Ivory Coast are not likely to occur. So, each match between any of the two sides is bound to be a tough battle from start to finish, and on matchday one, viewers saw Sweden have to settle for a three-all draw with Nigeria whilst the USWNT were able to power past Australia 3-1.
Today's game between team USA and Sweden will be a tense one. First of all, the ladies representing the Stars and Stripes will come face to face with none other than Pia Sundhage, who was on the tactician's bench during the last World Cup that saw them finish as runners-up to surprise package Japan, and successfully guided them to a second consecutive Olympic gold medal at the 2012 edition in London.
And ahead of the big game, Sundhage has already started with the Mourinho-esque chatter, offering some interesting insight into some of the USA's key players:
"Carli Lloyd was a challenge to coach, by the way. When she felt that we had faith in her, she could be one of the best players," she was quoted as saying in an interview with the New York Times.
"But if she began to question that faith, she could be one of the worst...it was so delicate, so, so delicate."
She also mused on goalkeeper Hope Solo, whose off-the-field issues continue to cast a dark shadow over her even at this summer's tournament, describing her as "one of the most challenging players she has ever coached especially when it comes to trouble."
Reunion: Pia Sundhage, celebrating with star striker Alex Morgan, will face many of her former charges later tonight as the USWNT take on Sweden
The two results for the USWNT and Sweden indeed could be quite deceptive. For starters, despite beating Australia 3-1, the USA looked shaky at times and were bailed out time and time again by the class of Solo between the sticks. Meanwhile, despite being held to a shock draw with the Nigerians, the Swedes will be quite familiar with their opponents due to their coach having spent nearly five years in the opposing camp.
Additionally, the team, ranked fifth in the world, has a whole crop of players, including star striker Lotta Schelin who are keen on making their mark and will cause havoc if they do not tighten things up in the middle of the park. The tall, powerful attacker, who is compared to none other than Zlatan Ibrahimovic due to her playing style is Sweden's all-time top scorer with an impressive 80 goals and will surely enjoy adding to that tally as her team chases a first-ever World Cup crown.
Despite having only earned one point, Sweden will not be coming into this match with fear of their opponents, who sit at the top of their group. And surely, this feeling is due to their coach's assessment of the players they will be facing later tonight during pre-match pep-talks:
"They have good players and they have a good team [overall]. You have respect for them, of course it is good to mentally see them as humans. But we no longer have the fear factor," midfielder Emma Berglund boldly stated prior to the big game.
It will be interesting to see how Jill Ellis, who used star striker Alex Morgan as a late sub in their match against Australia, tinkers with her line-up, especially with how Abby Wambach and Sydney Leroux were largely ineffective versus the Matildas.
This will surely be an interesting match full of history and familiar faces meeting up again. Will the USWNT make it two wins in two to consolidate top spot in Group D? Or will the Blågult make amends from their frustrating stalemate against Nigeria as Sundhage gets the better of her former team?
USWNT vs Sweden confirmed lineups
#USA XI: Solo; Leroux; Sauerbrunn; Lloyd (c); Krieger; Holiday; Brian; Rapinoe; Johnston; Klingenberg; Press. #USWNT pic.twitter.com/0eu7xVEGuP
— FIFA Women'sWorldCup (@FIFAWWC) June 12, 2015
#SWE XI: Lindahl; Fischer; Dahlkvist; Schelin (c); Jakobsson; Ilestedt; Sjogran; Nilsson; Seger; Samuelsson; Rubensson #FIFAWWC
— FIFA Women'sWorldCup (@FIFAWWC) June 12, 2015
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