Sweden has been a fierce rival of the United States in international womens soccer, but that didnt stop one of its players from jumping to the Americans defense when a U.S. journalist bashed them.

Swedish midfielder Kosovare Asllani was still basking in the afterglow of the Swedes ousting the two-time defending champions from the Womens World Cup when she said the reporter shaded the U.S. squad.

I had an interview with an American journalist yesterday and he was talking so much in a question, Asllani said on The ReCap Show podcast this week.

I was like, How can you ask me this? He asked basically, Oh, the U.S. are talking about the American team is so over, you know, la, la, la. And I was like, Dont talk shit about the American team. Thats basically what I said. I was like, You cant say this.

While conservatives led by Donald Trump turned the teams demise into anti-woke blather , Asllani wasnt having it. The teams off-field campaign to boost pay for female players and advocate for LGBTQ rights will long outlive its disappointing showing at the World Cup, she said.

The U.S. Womens National Team, theyre pioneers, Asllani said on the show, hosted by two-time World Cup winners Tobin Heath and Christen Press. I mean, you are raising the game. You are opening doors for the rest of the community, the rest of the world. You are first with everything.

Asllani also had positive words for the U.S. right after the Swedes shootout victory.

They will come back for sure , they have so much quality on their team, Asllani said. This defeat will not take them down.