'We'll make sure we'll knock out the USWNT' - Sweden send out warning ahead of last 16 clash at Women's World Cup

• Sweden to face USWNT in round of 16
• USWNT struggling for form
• Were beaten in their last meeting at the Olympics

WHAT HAPPENED? Vlatko Andonovski's troops finished second in Group E after lacklustre performances in their final two group games against the Netherlands and Portugal. The manager even admitted that their display against Portugal was "not good enough" which saw them post their lowest-ever points tally in World Cup group stage history. In contrast, Sweden have been in incredible form and topped group G with three convincing wins in which they scored nine times and shipped just one goal.

WHAT THEY SAID: Swden defender Nathalie Bjorn has now warned the USWNT that Sweden are ready to knock the holders out of the tournament in the next round.

"When you play football, we want to have the ball and if the US has the ball too much they are going to control the game. We don't want them to control the game. We want to have the ball and create our own chances, we need to be very critical in our press and try to make them force mistakes," she told ESPN.

"We will have full focus on Sunday. We will do everything we can as a team, as individuals, and then we'll make sure that we will knock out the US."

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Sweden's Johanna Rytting Kaneryd is also in confident mood and feels her team can cause the USWNT plenty of problems.

"We are confident and I think we know how to hurt them, but it's gonna be a challenging game and we have a lot of respect for them. It's a really, really good team who won the last World Cup," she explained.

"They want, a little bit like us, they want to play with a lot of speed and they want to win the ball and go for attacks straightaway. I feel like that's where we can go for the attack as well."

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WHAT NEXT? The USWNT will take on Sweden on Sunday at the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium in the round of 16 in the 2023 Women's World Cup.