Kim Kallstrom scored in the 56th minute to lead Sweden over the United States 1-0 tonight and send the Americans to their first four-game losing streak in a decade.

"We feel like we need to do better and get results over here," U.S. defender Carlos Bocanegra said. "These games are good for us in the long run. But we also don't want to just come over here for the experience. We want to come over and win."

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.

"I think we had periods in the game where we adjusted to the tempo better, started to play a little quicker and created some chances," Bradley said. "But the next step for us is to sustain this for longer periods and then be able to put more pressure on the other team throughout the game."

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.

"Clint has been able to create chances," Bradley said. "One of the qualities that I think sets him apart a little bit is that he can sometimes create a chance out of nothing."

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.