Women's World Cup 2023: Sweden beat Australia and took third place.

It was 2-0 in Brisbane in front of almost 50,000 people. The Scandinavians achieved bronze for the fourth time in their history.

Sweden finished third in the Women's World Cup after defeating Australia, one of the hosts of the tournament along with New Zealand, 2-0 in a match played at the Brisbane Stadium in front of 49,461 spectators .

The Scandinavians, who had lost to Spain in one of the semifinals, controlled the game from end to end and did not give the Oceanics a chance, who had been beaten by England in the other semifinal. In this way they kept the bronze for the fourth time in their history : before they had achieved it in China 1991, Germany 2011 and France 2019. Their best performance was in the United States 2003, when they were runners-up behind Germany.

The team led by Peter Gerhardsson took the lead 30 minutes into the first half with a penalty for an infringement by Clare Hunt on Stina Blackstenius that had not initially been penalized by referee Cheryl Foster, who changed her mind after reviewing the maneuver on the monitor located at the foot of the pitch. Barcelona forward Fridolina Rolfö beat goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold with a low left-footed drive against the left post.

After having squandered some chances to extend the lead, the Europeans finally sealed the match 16 minutes into the game with a counterattack play in which, after receiving a cross from the left by Blackstenius, the captain Kosovare Asllanni nailed from the Crescent an unattackable right hand for Arnold. After that, there were no chances of reaction for the locals.

While The Matildas missed out on a podium spot, they completed their best ever World Cup performance. Until today, his best performances had been in China 2007, Germany 2011 and Canada 2015, when he had lost in the quarterfinals.

“We are disappointed, of course. We didn't achieve what we wanted, but I hope we inspired people. The way the supporters supported us was a dream come true. It was the best four weeks of our careers. I think we showed the world and Australia that we are a soccer country”, said Sam Kerr , the figure of the Oceanic team.

Only one game remains for this World Cup, the one that will define the title: England , the current European champion, will face Spain on Sunday at 7 at the Australia Stadium in Sydney. Whichever the winning selection is, they will obtain the first planetary title in their history.

Source images: Twitter FIFA Women's World Cup.