Sweden on Saturday defeated tournament co-hosts Australia to finish third at the Women’s World Cup for the fourth time ever.
Fridolina Rolfo and Kosovare Asllani scored in each half to give the Blagult a well-deserved victory; they completely neutralised Australia and were in command for the whole of the game, but eventually the Matildas’ exhaustion cost them.
Australia coach Tony Gustavsson made a poor call by not making any substitutions for a match that typically features heavy rotation; his team looked slow and off the pace from the very beginning, with Sweden getting the first real chance through Stina Blackstenius after only two minutes.
