By Harry Awurumibe, Editor, Abuja Bureau
Two goals scored in each half by Fridolina Rolfo
Rolfö’s penalty goal in 30′ minutes and Kosovare Asllani’s strike in 62′ minutes ensured that Sweden defeated co-hosts Australia 2-0 to finish third at the 2023 Women’s World Cup.
Asllani’s stunning second-half strike sealed victory for Sweden as the victory helped them to win Bronze medal again at FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
She rifled in a shot from the edge of the area to add to Rolfo’s first-half penalty as Sweden won the Bronze medal match for the second World Cup in succession.
Despite the defeat, this represents Australia’s best ever World Cup finish but the Matildas were unable to end on a high.
Rolfo’s penalty gave Peter Gerhardsson’s side the lead after a video assistant referee (VAR) check confirmed that Claire Hunt had clipped Stina Blackstenius in the box after 26 minutes.
And on the hour mark, Blackstenius played a superb square ball to Asllani, who stroked in a first-time shot to double their lead.
However, Australia captured the nations’ imagination as the Matildas’ achievement in finishing fourth cannot be understated in a country where football is not the number one sport.
Their 3-1 semi-final defeat by England was the most watched TV event in Australian history with 11.15 million viewers tuning in.
But they seemed deflated on Saturday and put in a tired performance, with even their talisman Sam Kerr struggling to make an impact on the game-in fact, she had the fewest touches of any player on the pitch in the first half.
Their best chances fell to Hayley Raso and Clare Polkinghorne, but they were both denied by Sweden goalkeeper Zecira Musovic.
Australia, who had only ever reached the quarter-finals once previously, in 2015, were the first hosts to reach the semi-finals since United States in 2003.
Their efforts in this tournament have certainly captured the hearts of the fans in green and gold and the hope will be that that leaves a lasting legacy.
Sweden win bronze again
Sweden have plenty of experience of playing in the third-fourth place match, having reached the semi-finals on five occasions but only making the final once – in 2003, when they were beaten by Germany.
And they dominated the game to win bronze for a fourth time.
They were already on on top before Rolfo beat the dive of Australia keeper Mackenzie Arnold with a well-placed penalty into the bottom left corner to give them the lead.
And Asllani’s super strike secured victory in a game of a few clear cut chances.
It has been another fine tournament for the Scandinavians who topped their group with maximum points before knocking out defending champions the United States in the last 16.
An impressive victory over Japan followed, but their failure to successfully negotiate a semi-final once against after their dramatic exit at the hands of Spain, will be their lasting memory of this tournament.
