Sweden Wins 2-0 Against Australia, Takes Third Place in Women’s World Cup
In front of about 50,000 people, Sweden got ahead with a penalty kick by Fridolina Rolfo in the 30th minute. Then, Kosovare Asllani scored a strong goal to make it two for Sweden, a little after an hour of play.
Sweden is ranked as the third-best team globally. This marks the fourth time they’ve come in third place at this competition.
They definitely earned their victory against the home team by controlling the middle of the field and keeping Australia’s key player, Sam Kerr, from making much of an impact.
Mary Fowler, another important player for Australia, had a tough time. She struggled physically against the big and strong Swedish defenders.
In contrast, the Swedish striker Stina Blackstenius created a lot of trouble for the Australian defense during the 63 minutes she played and played a role in both goals.
Right from the start, the Swedish team showed more determination than the Australian team and mostly controlled the game in the first part.
Similar to how England played in their 3-1 victory over the Matildas in the semi-finals on Wednesday, the Swedes slowed down the game and commanded the midfield.
Australia seemed to be most threatening when they quickly changed from defense to attack, and much of the time, they struggled to keep possession and were mostly chasing after the Swedish players.
In the first minute, the Swedes had a great opportunity to score when Blackstenius shot the ball low towards the goal.
The Australian goalkeeper, Mackenzie Arnold, who had another impressive performance, pushed the ball away, and Ellie Carpenter did a good job clearing it from in front of the open goal.
The Matildas didn’t manage to take their first shot until the 24th minute when Hayley Raso’s attempt was well saved by the Swedish goalkeeper, Zecira Musovic.
However, shortly after that, Sweden took the lead following a video review that determined Clare Hunt had accidentally tripped Blackstenius’s heel after yet another dangerous run into the penalty area by the Swedish striker.
Australian coach Tony Gustavsson made a change to his team’s attacking strategy at the 60-minute mark. He brought in Emily van Egmond and Cortnee Vine to try and score more goals. However, it was the Swedish team that continued to dominate the game.
Sweden made some progress in quieting the packed stadium by scoring a goal. Blackstenius passed the ball to Asllani, who hit a strong shot into the net, leaving the Australian goalkeeper, Arnold, with no chance to save it.
After that play, both Blackstenius and Asllani were taken out of the game shortly after.
In the remaining 20 minutes of the match, Australia tried really hard to break through Sweden’s strong defense by sending long passes into the penalty area. However, the Swedish goalkeeper, Musovic, didn’t face many difficult situations and managed to keep a clean sheet, meaning Australia didn’t score any goals.