Hope Solo wins the gold medal for being an ugly American.
The controversial goalie for the U.S. women’s soccer team unleashed an epic sore-loser rant after the Americans were upset by Sweden in the Olympic quarterfinals Friday.
The outspoken Solo, rather than paying tribute to the gritty Swedish squad, denounced the winners as a “bunch of cowards.”
“I thought that we played a courageous game,” Solo told reporters after the shocking defeat. “I thought 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.”
The oft-troubled goalkeeper probably should have stopped there — but she went on to put her foot in her mouth.
“But I also think we played a bunch of cowards,” Solo added.
“The best team did not win today. I strongly believe that. I think you saw American heart. You saw us give everything we had today.”
Solo spoke out after the U.S. lost in penalty kicks to a Swedish team that the top-ranked Americans were heavily favored to beat.
The Swedes, after withstanding waves of American attacks, notched the opening goal in the 61st minute.
The U.S. team knotted the score 16 minutes later when striker Alex Morgan struck from 10 yards out.
The Swedish team clinched the victory when Lisa Dahlkvist beat Solo in the fifth stage of penalty kicks after American winger Christen Press blasted her shot over the crossbar.
The loss marked the first time the vaunted U.S. women’s soccer team failed to advance to the semifinals of a major tournament.
Asked to clarify her comments after the game, Solo didn’t hold back.
“Sweden dropped off,” she said. “They didn’t want to open play. They didn’t want to pass the ball. They didn’t want to play great soccer. It was a combative game, a physical game. Exactly what they wanted and exactly what their game plan was.”
“I don’t think they’re going to make it far in the tournament,” she added. “I think it was very cowardly. But they won. They’re moving on, and we’re going home.”
Sweden coach Pia Sundhage, who helmed the U.S. national team from 2008-2012 during which the women won two gold medals, quickly fired back at her former goalkeeper.
“I don’t give a crap,” Sundhage said, according to Swedish website Sportsbladet. “I’m going to Rio, she’s going home.”
Swedish goalie Hedvig Lindahl slammed Solo for her late-game stall tactics when the American changed her gloves before Sweden’s final shooter.
“What she did was an act of panic,” Lindahl said.
Solo, who has been jeered with chants of “Zika” throughout the Olympics by angry Brazilian fans unhappy with her social media posts making light of the country’s medical crisis, is no stranger to controversy.
She was suspended by U.S. Soccer for 30 days leading up to the 2015 Women’s World Cup after she and her husband took a joy ride in a team van during a California training camp. Solo’s husband — former Seahawks tight end Jerramy Stevens — pleaded no contest to driving the van while intoxicated. Solo was along for the ride on Jan. 19, 2015 and nearly got busted for disorderly conduct.
“I apologize for disappointing my teammates, coaches and the Federation who have always supported me,” Solo said at the time.
She was reinstated in late February, missing no significant games, and then helped the U.S. win the Women’s World Cup in Canada in July.
Solo was arrested in 2014 and charged with two counts of domestic violence after an incident involving her half-sister and nephew in suburban Seattle. The charges were eventually dismissed on procedural grounds.
Her big mouth also got her temporarily booted from the U.S. national team in 2007 after she ripped then-head coach Greg Ryan who benched her for the World Cup semis in China.
“It was the wrong decision,” Solo said of her benching, “and I think that anybody knows anything about the game knows that.”
Ryan opted for veteran Briana Scurry against Brazil and it backfired as the U.S. suffered a 4-0 rout.
“There’s no doubt in my mind I would have made those saves. … You have to live in the present. And you can’t live by big names. You can’t live in the past.”
