The most-played fixture in the history of the Women's World Cup is set to be played out for a seventh time in Melbourne on Sunday after the United States failed to win their First Round group today.

The defending world champions are through to the Round of 16 and will play the winners of Group G to be settled tomorrow. Sweden currently sit on top of the group, three points ahead of Italy, who they have already defeated 5-0 on Saturday. It seems inconceivable that the Swedes will lose their final group game to Argentina, coupled with the necessary five-goal swing in goal difference to lose the group leadership.

Sweden and the United States will therefore remarkably meet for the sixth Women's World Cup in succession, and the seventh time overall. This is an all-time record in the history of the tournament, equaling the seven match-ups between Brazil and Sweden, Argentina and Germany and Germany and Yugoslavia/Serbia in the men's World Cup.

The two teams met in each other's first-ever Women's World Cup match in Guangzhou, China in 1991. The United States won a thrilling encounter 3-2 with the winning goal scored by a 19-year-old striker called Mia Hamm. The two teams were staying at the same White Swan Hotel and, not keen on the local cuisine, the United States had given some of their pasta to the Swedish delegation. After the North Americans won their first world title defeating Norway in the same city two weeks later, the Scandinavians welcomed them back with the word 'Champions' spelled out in their gold socks.

The teams did not meet again at the tournament until 12 years later in 2003, the first of five successive occasions in which they were drawn together in the group phase. The United States won then, 3-1 and again, 2-0, four years later in China. In 2011, Sweden won 2-1 in Wolfsburg, a result which relegated the United States to second place in the standings, the only previous occasion in which they have failed to win their first round group.

In 2015, the two teams drew 0-0 in Winnipeg, a result which was followed by 13 straight wins for the United States in the competition which brought two successive World Cup triumphs and included another first round victory over Sweden by 2-0 in Le Havre. Overall, the United States have met Sweden on 42 occasions, winning 23 and losing only seven.

The two team's last competitive encounter was their opening match at the Tokyo Olympics. Sweden had ended the United States' 44-game unbeaten record, battering them 3-0 on their way to reaching the final. Now the number three team in the world, their world ranking meant both they and the United States were seeded in the Women's World Cup draw and, for once, could not be drawn together in their First Round group. Yet, destiny is still set to bring them together at the first available opportunity in the first knockout round.

After defeating Vietnam 3-0 in their opening match of this FIFA Women's World Cup, the United States world-record run of 13 consecutive victories at the tournament was ended by the Netherlands on Thursday. This left them level on points with the Netherlands and needing to win their final game against Portugal to win the group and maintain their slender goal difference advantage over the Dutch who were simultaneously playing Vietnam.

Four goal in the opening 23 minutes for the Dutch rendered whatever the United States achieved against Portugal irrelevant as the world champions toiled to a goal-less draw against their European opponents. In injury-time, they were inches away from elimination when Portuguese substitute Ana Capeta struck the American post. In addition, key midfielder Rose Lavelle picked up her second yellow card of the tournament and is therefore suspended from the United States' Round of 16 match.

Ultimately, the United States were not able to even defeat the Portuguese and scrapped into the Round of 16 with five points, their lowest-ever total from a FIFA Women's World Cup First Round group, even taking into account the 1991 tournament when only two points were awarded for a win. They will go into the game against their old rivals knowing they will have to significantly improve if they are to harbor any hopes of a third successive world title, the so-called 'three-peat'.