Stina Blackstenius celebrates scoring against the USWNT at the Tokyo Olympics.
Stina Blackstenius celebrates scoring against the USWNT at the Tokyo Olympics.
AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan
  • Sweden romped the USWNT 3-0 in their opening match of the Tokyo Olympics.
  • Stina Blackstenius led the charge with two goals in the massive upset.
  • The 25-year-old striker was also responsible for the US meltdown during the 2016 Olympics in Rio.
  • Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

The US Women's National Team has an Achilles' heel at the Olympics.

Her name is Stina Blackstenius.

Stina Blackstenius jumps into her teammates' arms in celebration.
Stina Blackstenius jumps into her teammates' arms in celebration.
Jack Gruber-USA TODAY Network

The 25-year-old striker provided the heroics in Sweden's 3-0 romp of the top-ranked USWNT during their Tokyo Olympics opener Wednesday morning, scoring both the first and second goals in the upset. With the win, Sweden broke the Americans' 44-game unbeaten streak and severely complicated their path to victory at the games.

Somehow, it's not the first time Blackstenius has almost single-handedly derailed a USWNT bid for gold.

Five years ago, a then-20-year-old Blackstenius was instrumental in Sweden's massive upset over the USWNT in the quarterfinal match at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Pia Sundhage was forced to sub in the budding star early in the do-or-die game following an injury to forward Fridolina Rolfö, and Blackstenius capitalized on the opportunity.

Stina Blackstenius dribbles past the USWNT's Becky Sauerbrunn.
Stina Blackstenius dribbles past the USWNT's Becky Sauerbrunn during the 2016 Olympics.
Celso Junior/Getty Images

In the 61st-minute of the contest, the wunderkind split the American defense for a breakaway and slotted a goal past USWNT keeper Hope Solo to put Sweden on the board. Though the US equalized on a goal from superstar Alex Morgan mere minutes later, the Swedes finished the job in penalty kicks to deliver a stunning blow to the reigning World Cup champions.

The USWNT found itself in a similar position heading into the Tokyo Olympics. After winning the 2019 World Cup in dominant fashion, Vlatko Andonovski's squad entered the games looking to become the first team to earn gold directly after winning the preeminent international soccer tournament.

But once again, Blackstenius was around to thwart the effort.

In the 25th minute of Wednesday's contest, Sweden's Sofia Jakobsson delivered a cross into the box for the Bollklubben Häcken star, who connected with her head to find the back of the net and give her side an early lead.

She doubled Sweden's advantage roughly 30 minutes later, cleaning up a loose ball deep in the box with a left-footed volley after a teammate's header ricocheted off the far post.

Though the USWNT hasn't been eliminated from the tournament, the team's path to victory became a whole lot narrower thanks to Blackstenius' brilliant effort. The Americans will need to finish first or second in the four-team Group G - which features New Zealand and a formidable Australian side in addition to Sweden - in order to advance to the knock-out stage.

They'll have three days to recover before taking the pitch for a Saturday-morning matchup against the Kiwis. Then, on Tuesday, the USWNT will face international superstar Sam Kerr and her Matildas for what promises to be a decisive final match in the group round.

Meanwhile, Blackstenius has the Swedes sitting pretty atop the group. They'll face Australia - which also has a win under its belt - Saturday morning before finishing out the group stage against New Zealand.

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