A penalty goal from Barcelona’s Fridolina Rölfo, in the first half, and another from ex-Madridista Kosovare Asllani, after the break, gave Sweden victory over Australia and bronze in the Women’s World Cup, the fourth in their history.
Sweden seizes third place by winning a duel in which they were superior, despite Australia’s peaks of intensity. What could have been a great celebration for the co-host ended up being a party without music in which the fans and the oceanic ones gradually deflated. Finally “The Matildas” finish the most special World Cup for them without a medal.
In the early stages of the match, Sweden approached the Australian box with dangerous lateral crosses that made the Oceanians organize a clear low block. The Nordics pressed for the first 15 minutes and the co-hosts limited themselves to trying to stop Blacktenius, Rölfo and company.
The Matildas were clear that their time would come. The wing progressions of Catley, who began to act as winger, helped Hayley Raso and Sam Kerr to start finding the ball near the Nordic area.
Hayley Raso, a Real Madrid player, had it in the 25th minute of the game. After a good triangulation on the right wing, the ball landed on the Whites’ forward so that she could finish off alone inside the area, although somewhat tilted, thus warning the Swedes.
Australia’s good minutes were short-lived. Just when Las Matildas were at their best and when the fans were cheering the most, the penalty came. In a move in which the Blaugrana Fridolina Rölfo hit a crossbar, Hunt committed a penalty and brought down Blacktemius in the area. An apparently unintentional touch but which destabilized the Swedish forward and was enough for the referee, after reviewing it in the VAR, to award a penalty.
Rölfo made no mistake and put the ball close to the right post to make it 1-0 on the scoreboard in the 30th minute of the game. A very hard stick for Australia, which seemed to be finding the spaces.
The goal gave more strength to the Swedes, who, far from being left behind, continued trying to increase the score.
In added time in the first half, Filippa Angeldal was able to expand the ball after a header. Again, an occasion from set pieces in which the second play was more dangerous than the first cross, something from which Sweden has greatly benefited in this World Cup.
Yes, Kosovare Asllanni, the captain, did. After driving the ball well towards the Nordic area, she opened the ball to Blackstenius so that, after advancing down the wing, she returned the ball to the Milan player and scored from the front to make it 2-0 (m.61). A goal that silenced the Brisbane Stadium and put more stones in the Australian way in the fight for bronze.
Australia was able to complicate things for Sweden in the 69th minute after a shot by Clare Polkinghorne that the Nordic goalkeeper saved from point-blank range, but today was not Australia’s day and the European team took care of it.
2 – Suecia: Zecira Musovic; Jonna Andersson, Magdalena Eriksson, Amanda Ilestedt, Nathalie Bjorn; Elin Rubensson, Filippa Angeldal, Kosovare Asllani (m.67, Lina Hurting); Fridolina Rolfö, Johanna Kaneryd (m.89, Linda Sembrant), Stina Blackstenius (m.67, Rebecka Blomqvist).
Selector: Peter Gerhardsson
0 – Australia: Mackenzie Arnold; Steph Catley, Clare Polkinghorne (m.74, Alex Chidiac), Clare Hunt, Ellie Carpenter (m.74, Courtney Nevin); Katrina Gorry (m.60, Emily Van Egmond), Kyra Cooney-Cross; Caitlin Foord, Hayley Raso (m.60, Cortnee VINE ), Sam Kerr, Mary Fowler.
Selector: Tony Gustavsson
Goals: 1-0, m.30: Fridolina Rölfo, penalty. 2-0, m.62: Kosovare Asllani
Referee: Cheryl Foster (UK). She admonished Katrina Gorry (m. 46) and Elin Rubensson (m.89).
Incidents: Match for third place in the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand played at the Brisbane Stadium (AUS), with 49,461 spectators.
