U.S. Soccer to conduct a review into the USWNT's failure at the World Cup

U.S. Soccer have revealed they will conduct a review into the national team's failure during the Women's World Cup.

The reigning champions were dumped out of the tournament on Sunday, following a penalty shootout defeat to Sweden.

It came after they only narrowly made the knockout stage by clinging onto a goalless draw against Portugal in their final group game.

Questions have been asked about the future of manager Vlatko Andonovski, while fans were unhappy with the decision of some players not to sing the national anthem before games, as well as concerns over their displays on the field.

U.S. Soccer in a statement, as per the Athletic, have confirmed that a review will be conducted to see where things went wrong in the tournament and what their next steps are.

They said:  'While we are all disappointed that our journey has ended at the Women's World Cup, we want to thank the players, coaches and staff for their remarkable efforts and to our fans both in the stands and at home for their unwavering support.

'As we always do after a major tournament, we will conduct a review to identify areas of improvement and determine our next steps.

'As we look ahead, we embrace the hard work necessary to become champions again.'

Their penalty shootout loss to Sweden ended their hopes of a three-peat after winning the two previous World Cups in 2015 and 2019.

They had dominated the last-16 clash on Sunday, but a fine goalkeeping display from Sweden's Zecira Musovic took the game to extra time.

The US had the advantage after three penalties after Nathalie Bjorn's miss for Sweden, but the shootout turned after Megan Rapinoe fired her effort over the crossbar.

Rapinoe was then slammed by US fans after she was seen laughing following her miss and explained later that it was because she 'never' hit penalties over and thought it was a 'sick joke'.

Sweden clinched the win in dramatic fashion when Lina Hurtig's penalty was saved by US keeper Alyssa Naeher - who could only spill the ball onto the line.

Reacting quickly, Naeher palmed the ball off the goal line but goal-line technology showed that the ball had crossed the line by millimeters.

Meanwhile, five members of the team sung along with the national anthem ahead of the last-16, with six including Naomi Girma and Crystal Dunn electing not to do so.

In previous Women's World Cup group ties against Vietnam, The Netherlands and Portugal, the majority of Vlatko Andonovski's side have not sung along to the national anthem.

Prior to their goalless draw with Portugal, the majority of the side stood motionless as the anthem played out, with only captain Lindsey Horan, Alex Morgan, Alyssa Naeher and Julie Ertz putting their hands on their hearts.

The decision led to criticism from American media personality Megyn Kelly, who blamed Rapinoe for the decision, despite the 38-year-old not being included in the starting XI for the clash.

The controversy led to US soccer legend Alexi Lalas claiming the women's team have become 'unlikeable' saying 'politics and stances' are hurting their image.