Sweden beat Australia to end third at World Cup

They dominated the game to win bronze for a fourth time.

In Summary

• 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.

• They were already 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.

Kosovare Asllani celebrates after a stunning second-half strike which sealed victory for Sweden in the Women World Cup in third place game against Australia, August 19, 2023.
Kosovare Asllani celebrates after a stunning second-half strike which sealed victory for Sweden in the Women World Cup in third place game against Australia, August 19, 2023.
Image: FIFA

Kosovare Asllani's stunning second-half strike sealed victory for Sweden as they beat Australia to finish third at the Women's World Cup.

She rifled in a shot from the edge of the area to add to Fridolina Rolfo's first-half penalty as Sweden won the bronze medal match for the second World Cup in succession.

Despite the defeat, this represents co-hosts 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.

"It was an incredibly important match and the final 10 minutes were really tough," said Sweden coach Peter Gerhardsson.

"So when that final whistle went and we had won, there was a great sense of relief and it was a wonderful feeling.

"It's great to win a match of this magnitude - there's been a lot of attention paid to this tournament back in Sweden."