Women’s World Cup: Sweden Beats Australia, Secures Third Place
Sweden beat co-hosts Australia 2-0 in the third-place match at the FIFA Women’s World Cup, picking up its fourth bronze medal on Saturday, at the Lang Park Stadium in Brisbane, Australia.
Both teams were unchanged from the sides that started the semi-finals, where Australia were beaten 3-1 by England and Sweden lost 2-1 to Spain.
The Swedes, ranked third in the world, were awarded a penalty in the 28th minute after a VAR review showed Australia’s Clare Hunt clipped Stina Blackstenius’ heels, and Fridolina Rolfo stepped up to fire the resulting spot kick into the net. 1-0!
With the pace of the game picking up, Australia goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold made a magnificent low save to keep out Rolfo’s free kick in the closing minutes of the half.
In the second half, Sweden captain Kosovare Asllani doubled the lead just after the hour mark, rifling a sweet strike from the edge of the penalty area beyond the reach of goalkeeper Arnold following another quick counter-attack.
Australia pushed forward in numbers but looked out of energy and ideas.
Their efforts to claw their way back into the game were hampered when star striker Sam Kerr picked up a knock late on and Sweden closed out the game comfortably as the match finished 2-0.
Thank you for the m̶u̶s̶i̶c̶ football. 🇸🇪@SvenskFotboll | #FIFAWWC
— FIFA Women’s World Cup (@FIFAWWC) August 19, 2023
While disappointed to sign off at the World Cup with another defeat, the Matildas of Australia still achieved their best result at the tournament having never previously gone beyond the quarter-final stage.
For Sweden, they were much the better of the two sides in the contest and end the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup with the bronze medal.
🇸🇪 @SvenskFotboll round off their #FIFAWWC 2023 campaign with a win. 💪
— FIFA Women’s World Cup (@FIFAWWC) August 19, 2023
England will play Spain in the FIFA Women’s World Cup final on Sunday, August 20th, 2023.
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