The U.S. faced its first real challenge of the tournament against Sweden in the group stage finale, but they made it through with a 2-0 win without too much trouble.

Both teams had already advanced to the next round of the tournament, but they were both going for it and fighting for the top spot in Group F. The Americans looked confident with a strong intensity and tempo that they haven't shown yet in this tournament.

The Americans will move on to face Spain in the round of 16, while Sweden will face Canada. 

Here are three takeaways from the USWNT's win

USA played like it had something to prove

Forget about the tanking questions and whether the USA would hold back to avoid potentially playing France later in the tournament— the U.S. played against Sweden like it had something to prove.

Leading up to the match, coach Jill Ellis and the USWNT players insisted they weren't worried about the past coming off a 2011 World Cup loss and getting knocked out of the 2016 Rio Olympics by Sweden. The Americans and Swedes have a rich history after meeting 39 times, and Thursday's game marked their sixth game in the tournament. 

This time around, the Americans came out aggressive and it was clear they were going to do everything they could to control the outcome of this match. The Americans scored in just the third minute of the game, marking the fastest goal Sweden has ever conceded at the World Cup. While Sweden challenged U.S. on transitions, USA was a threat on set pieces and looked dangerous on attack.

Goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher passed the test

Goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher was put to the test for the first time in France as she looks to fill a big void left by Hope Solo after the 2016 Olympics. She has a career 72% save percentage with 27 clean sheets.

Naeher hadn't been challenged in USA's first two games of the group stage against Thailand and Chile, but Sweden made it slightly more difficult for her. She was credited with two saves in the first half, though she wasn't challenged in the second.

While there's still a lot left to play, Naeher is showing promise as she grows into her new role.

Alex Morgan wasn't herself 

One surprise to come out of Thursday's match was Alex Morgan simply wasn't herself.

Coming off a game in which she scored five of USA's 13 goals in the group stage opener, she couldn't seem to get anything going for the U.S. against Sweden. She played just 45 minutes and was subbed out at halftime for veteran Carli Lloyd. 

She was shaken up after a collision in the final minutes of the first half, but was able to run. While she looked OK, she didn't look the same. It's likely coach Jill Ellis limited her minutes for precautionary reasons heading into the knockout stage. There certainly will be questions around her status.