"It's really tough. We wanted to play better and win this game. This was a team we needed to beat to reach the playoffs," Edin tells SVT.
The reigning Swedish Olympic champions from Beijing four years ago are not living up to expectations.
Neither their own nor others' expectations.
Edin is competing in his fifth straight Olympics and, in addition to the gold in 2022, also has a silver (2018) and a bronze (2014). Now everything has to go his way in the coming days - otherwise he will leave what is likely to be his last Olympics after the regular season.
Germany, Switzerland, Norway and the Czech Republic await in the remaining matches. Even if Edin, Oskar Eriksson, Rasmus Wranå and Christoffer Sundgren find a winning game and take the match, the Swedes will most likely have to rely on other results.
But skipper Niklas Edin has been unrecognizable during the days in Cortina. Considered one of the world's best curlers of all time, he has been responsible for some serious mistakes.
A new one proved fatal against the United States.
In the fourth round, the blunder came. Edin completely failed to prevent the Americans from scoring two points with the team's last stone. There, the USA gained control of the match that would not be relinquished.
"I probably thought I had hit the stone halfway, but when I miss it becomes very expensive. In hindsight, maybe you should have only given up two points," Edin tells SVT.
Sweden has one win and four losses and is only eighth in the regular season.
Monday 16 February, 2:05 p.m.: Sweden - Germany
Tuesday 17 February, 9:05 a.m.: Switzerland - Sweden
Tuesday 17 February, 7:05 p.m.: Sweden - Norway
Thursday 19 February, 9:05 a.m.: Sweden - Czech Republic
