'Things don't always go the way you want them to': Hope Solo admits she's a 'bad' loser after calling the Swedish team 'cowards' following Olympic loss

  • Goalkeeper Hope Solo said she's 'really bad' at losing as she shared the ‘full context’ of her comments about the Swedish soccer team
  • The three-time defending Olympic gold medal US team will miss the Olympic final for the first time after the shock 4-3 loss to Sweden 
  • After the defeat, Solo said: 'We lost to a bunch of cowards. The better team did not win'
  • After facing criticism for her comments, she told Sports Illustrated that 'not all wins have been pretty' and she's 'proud' of how her team played
  • The loss marks the first time that the US women’s team has exited a major international competition before the semifinals 

Hope Solo has said she’s ‘bad’ at losing after branding the Swedish women’s soccer team ‘cowards’ following the USA women’s team’s elimination from the Olympic Games.

‘Losing sucks, I’m really bad at it,’ the goalkeeper said on Twitter on Friday as she shared the ‘full context’ of her comments about the Swedish team.

‘I’ve won and lost a lot of games in my career. And not all wins have been pretty. Sometimes it’s just finding a way to win that matters the most and tonight Sweden found a way to beat us,’ she added to Sports Illustrated's Grant Wahl.

Scroll down for video 

 Goalkeeper Hope Solo said she's 'really bad' at losing as she shared the ‘full context’ of her comments about the Swedish soccer team

 Goalkeeper Hope Solo said she's 'really bad' at losing as she shared the ‘full context’ of her comments about the Swedish soccer team

After facing criticism for saying the Sweden team were 'cowards', she told Sports Illustrated that 'not all wins have been pretty' and she's 'proud' of how the team played

After facing criticism for saying the Sweden team were 'cowards', she told Sports Illustrated that 'not all wins have been pretty' and she's 'proud' of how the team played

‘Nevertheless, I am so proud of the way we played tonight, our fight and heart, and the skill we showed. Things don't always go the way you want them to. Such is life, and such is sport,’ she said.

The three-time defending Olympic gold medal US team will miss the Olympic final for the first time after the shock 4-3 loss to Sweden on penalties at Mane Garrincha Stadium in Brasilia, Brazil. 

The match was tied 1-1 after extra time, forcing the shootout.

The loss marks the first time that the women’s team has exited a major international competition before the semifinals.

The three-time defending Olympic gold medal US team will miss the Olympic final for the first time after the shock 4-3 loss to Sweden (pictured celebrating after their loss) 

The three-time defending Olympic gold medal US team will miss the Olympic final for the first time after the shock 4-3 loss to Sweden (pictured celebrating after their loss) 

After the defeat, Solo - the team's goalkeeper, said: 'we lost to a bunch of cowards. The better team did not win.'

'I strongly believe that. I think you saw American heart. You saw us give everything we had today,' she told Sports Illustrated.

'I thought that we played a courageous game... Sweden dropped off. They didn't want to open play. They didn't want to pass the ball. They didn't want to play great soccer.

'I don't think they're going to make it far in the tournament. I think it was very cowardly. But they won. They're moving on, and we're going home.'

Tied after three rounds in the shootout, Swedish captain Caroline Seger beat Hope Solo and American Christen Press skied her shot and sent it flying over the net.

With the next kick, Sweden's Lisa Dahlkvist calmly slotted the ball past Solo to secure the win. Before the final shot, Solo tried to put Dahlkvist off by changing her gloves - a delaying tactic that meant the Swede had to wait longer to take her kick.

Former US team co-captain Julie Foudy criticized Solo’s remarks.

‘To call them (Sweden) cowards for playing a tactically smart game is ridiculous and classless,’ she said, according to the New York Post.

US Soccer President Sunil Gulati also slammed Solo’s comments.

‘While we are all very much disappointed with the result of the match, Hope's post-game comments were highly inappropriate and not in line with the expectations of US Soccer or the ideals of the Olympic movement,’ he told Sports Illustrated’s Grant Wahl.

Rubbing salt into the wounds was the fact Sweden's coach, Pia Sundhage, previously coached the US team for five years and was manager for gold medal winning campaigns in Beijing and London.

The Americans won their first two matches in Brazil before a surprising 2-2 draw in Manaus against Colombia, which had already been eliminated.

Sweden's team celebrates their 1-1 (4-3 PSO) win over team United States during the Women's Football Quarterfinal match

After the defeat, Solo - the team's goalkeeper, said: 'we lost to a bunch of cowards. The better team did not win'

Sweden had only ever won five matches against the United States. The two teams played to a scoreless draw at last year's World Cup. 

The last time the two teams met in the Olympics was at the 1996 Atlanta Games. Sundhage was a player on the Sweden team that fell 2-1 to the Americans.

The crowd at Mane Garrincha Stadium was sparse at the start of the match and never extended much past the lower bowl of the massive 72,000-seat stadium that was reconstructed and expanded for the men's 2014 World Cup.

The fans that were there continued to jeer Solo with shouts of 'Zika!' every time she touched the ball. The fans have taunted her since the opening match in Brazil because of her posts on social media about the virus.

Solo mulled not attending the games over concerns about the virus, and has since tweeted multiple images of her large collection of mosquito repellent and of herself decked out in protective netting.

She has also faced criticism in recent years for a domestic violence claim made against her by a member of her family.

Solo was charged with two misdemeanor counts of assault in the fourth-degree against her half-sister, Teresa Obert, and her 17-year-old son, on June 21, 2014 in Kirkland, Washington.

Explosive details regarding Solo's behavior that night, in police records obtained by ESPN, revealed the goalkeeper swore at officers and threatened to fight one.

'You're such a b****', Cpl. Robert Russell said Solo then yelled to one of the officers. 'You're scared of me because you know that if the handcuffs were off, I'd kick your ass.'

Sweden had only ever won five matches against the United States (pictured above during the penalty shootout). The two teams played to a scoreless draw at last year's World Cup 

Sweden had only ever won five matches against the United States (pictured above during the penalty shootout). The two teams played to a scoreless draw at last year's World Cup 

The comments below have not been moderated.

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

By posting your comment you agree to our house rules.

Who is this week's top commenter? Find out now