US Mens National Team - US loses in Sweden

Back in Europe, the U.S. soccer team lost -- as usual.  Kim Kallstrom scored in the 56th minute to lead Sweden over the United States 1-0 Wednesday night and send the Americans to their first four-game losing streak in a decade. 

With most of its top players in the starting lineup, the U.S. team failed to create many offensive opportunities. After starting the year 10-0-1 -- all at home -- under new coach Bob Bradley, the U.S. team has lost four straight, all on the road. The Americans, who went 0-3 at the Copa America in June, had not dropped four in a row since January 1997 against Peru, Mexico, Denmark and China.

While the U.S. team has become a regional power during the last two decades, it has struggled in Europe, going 2-10-3 there in eight years under coach Bruce Arena. This was the first trip to Europe for the United States since it went 0-2-1 in the first round of last year's World Cup in Germany, a letdown following a quarterfinal appearance in South Korea four years earlier.  The Americans return home for their next game, on Sept. 9 at Chicago. But it doesn't get an easier -- they face Brazil, the world's top-ranked national team.

Kallstrom scored his seventh goal in 46 international appearances with a left-footed drive from just outside the penalty area that went into goalkeeper Tim Howard's right corner. Kennedy Bakircioglu set up the goal, running across the top of the penalty area, pushing off Steve Cherundolo and stepping by Michael Bradley.

The goal came six minutes after Clint Dempsey nearly scored for the Americans. Standing inside the box, Dempsey fired a low shot near the right post that goalkeeper Rami Shaaban barely got his gloves on.  The United States had a chance to tie in the 90th minute, when Bradley's glancing header off Bobby Convey's free kick was bobbled by Shaaban. The goalkeeper then gathered the ball as Jay DeMerit was poised to poke in the rebound.

Before a crowd of 20,648 at Ullevi Stadium, Sweden stopped a 12-game winless streak in exhibition games that dated to 2005.

DaMarcus Beasley had the Americans' best chance in the first half, shooting just wide of the right post from inside the area just three minutes in.  Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Sweden's top forward, nearly scored in the 14th minute but his shot was cleared off the goal line by defender Oguchi Oneywu. Ibrahimovic, scoreless in his last eight international games, was stopped one-on-one by Howard in the 31st minute and just seconds later, following a cross, sent a header off the crossbar.

Kallstrom came close to scoring his second goal in the 75th minute with a free kick from about 25 yards that just missed Howard's top right corner.