Sweden Takes Bronze

Amanda Perobelli/Reuters

With a 2-0 victory over Australia, Sweden officially grabs their fourth Women's World Cup bronze medal. Neither team made any changes to their starting XI's, as expected. Sweden's XI looked cohesive from the first whistle. This led to the match looking fairly one-sided from the start. Blackstenius had her first chance in the first minute of the game.

Sweden had figured out exactly what they needed to do to limit Australia's productivity. Kerr only managed two shots, while Fowler didn't have any. Even Hayley Raso, Australia's leading scorer in this tournament could hardly get anything going. Unfortunately, nothing seemed to go Australia's way, with Clare Polkinghorne conceding a penalty in the 26th minute. After a VAR review, it was confirmed and Fridolina Rolfö converted in the 30th minute. The penalty was certainly a soft call, Polkinghorne was making a clear play for the ball and caught the very end of Stina Blackstenius's heel.

The match was incredibly physical, including a major collision between Caitlin Foord and Kosovare Asllani just before the half. Both players thankfully were able to continue play, but Foord did come back in the second half with her head bandaged. The referee, Cheryl Foster, never had control over the match. Sweden was aggressive, and Foster certainly missed some calls against them. Until late in the second half, it seemed as though Sweden could do virtually no wrong. There's a certain level of physicality expected in a match, but Sweden took things too far. As the match progressed, I became increasingly concerned that someone was going to get seriously injured. The Foord - Asllani collision in the first half should have been a sign to Foster to reign things in. When Sam Kerr went down hard in the 75th minute and got up limping, I knew Foster had no control. There was not even a foul called. Luckily, Kerr was able to walk it off and was back in the game minutes later. Foster had given Katrina Gorry of Australia a yellow card in the first minute of first-half stoppage time, but wouldn't give out any to Sweden until the 88th, and there were multiple Sweden fouls that merited them earlier.

The truth is, even if the game had been officiated more fairly, Sweden likely still would have won. They seemed to be in close to perfect form otherwise. Their second goal was an absolute rocket by Asllani, in the 62nd minute. Their goalkeeper, Zerica Musovic has had the tournament of her life. Her ability to save shots alone could have won Sweden that match. Musovic certainly has my vote for the Golden Glove award.

Hamish Blair/AP Ulrik Pedersen /DeFodi Images

Sweden's tournament performance was a little up and down, despite their impressive results (undefeated until they played Spain). They still remain an "always the bridesmaid, never the bride" staple in the WWC. However, they certainly ended their tournament on a high note with lots to be proud of. Maybe the 2024 Olympics will finally be Sweden's time to take home gold.

The Matildas have everything to be proud of for this tournament. They've sold out stadiums, broke tv viewership records, and united a country. They may not have brought home the hardware to show for it, but they've changed the landscape of football in Australia. No Australian team has even finished as well as they did in a World Cup, women's or men's. It's only onward and "Up the Tillies."