Sweden take third place to spoil Australia's World Cup party

Sweden scored either side of half-time to spoil Australia's party and claim third spot at the Women's World Cup with a 2-0 win in Brisbane on Saturday.

In front of a crowd of nearly 50,000, Sweden took the lead with a 30th-minute penalty by Fridolina Rolfo and doubled their advantage with a powerful strike from Kosovare Asllani just after the hour.

Ranked third in the world, this is the fourth time that Sweden have finished third at the tournament.

They fully deserved their win against the hosts, dominating the midfield and keeping talismanic Australian striker Sam Kerr relatively quiet.

Australia's other dangerous attacker, Mary Fowler, had a night to forget as she struggled physically against the size and power of the Swedish defenders.

By contrast, Sweden striker Stina Blackstenius caused havoc among the Australian defence during her 63 minutes on the pitch and had a hand in both goals.

The Swedes opened the match with far more intent than the Matildas and dominated for most of the first period.

Playing a bit like England in their 3-1 semi-final win over the Matildas on Wednesday, the Swedes slowed the ball down and controlled the midfield.

Australia only really looked dangerous on the transition and for much of the time they seemed to be chasing shadows, struggling to get any meaningful possession.

The Swedes had a golden chance to take the lead in the first 60 seconds when Blackstenius shot low across goal.

Australian goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold, who had another excellent night, parried the ball away and Ellie Carpenter did well to clear from in front of an open goal.

The Matildas didn't have their first shot until the 24th minute when a Hayley Raso drive drew a good save from Sweden keeper Zecira Musovic.

But minutes later Sweden took the lead when VAR ruled that Clare Hunt had clipped Blackstenius's heel after yet another dangerous run into the box from the Swedish striker.

Australian coach Tony Gustavsson made an attacking change on the 60-minute mark, bringing on Emily van Egmond and Cortnee Vine, but it was Sweden who continued to control the match.

They went some way to silencing the sell-out crowd when Blackstenius laid a ball across goal for Asllani, who smashed a powerful strike past a diving Arnold.

It was their last contribution of the night as both were subbed almost immediately.

Australia tried desperately to breach the Swedish defence in the last 20 minutes with deep crosses into the box but Musovic was largely untroubled to keep a clean sheet.

England must play 'game of our lives'

Skipper Millie Bright said that England will need to play "the game of our lives" to beat Spain in Sunday's Women's World Cup final.

When the Lionesses kick off at Stadium Australia in Sydney they will attempt to do what no England side, men or women, has managed since 1966 -- win the World Cup.

Bright said the European champions must treat it as just another game, but admitted there was no escaping the enormity of the occasion for the country, the team and the players.

Like Spain, England are into the final for the first time.

"We know how passionate our nation is back home and how much they want us to win," Bright said on Saturday.

"But for us there is a process, we have a game plan to execute and we need to play the game of our lives."

Sarina Wiegman's side has grown through the World Cup, combining defensive resilience with ruthlessness in front of goal.

While Wiegman and Bright were keen to take the pressure off, the captain admitted it was "massive for the team" and her personally.

"I've always said it's 'we' and not 'me' and I think it will be the biggest moment in our careers," she added.

"I always say 'our' careers and 'we' because it is a team. It's a dream come true being in a World Cup final, there's no words to describe it."

England are boosted by the return of potent attacker Lauren James, who missed England's last two games after being sent off against Nigeria.

Wiegman was coy about what role James could play and sounded a warning about the threat posed by a Spain side who have passed their opponents into submission at times.

"I think the Spanish team is in a good place, they've had a very good tournament," she said.

"As always they want to play a possession game, they're very dynamic, they want to go forward all the time.

"At moments they will challenge us, but we will challenge them too."

Spain and England met last year in the quarter-finals of the European Championship, with the Lionesses squeezing through 2-1 in extra time.

They went on to win the title for their first major trophy in international women's football.

Wiegman has been instrumental in transforming England's fortunes and she is in her second consecutive World Cup final.

She steered her native Netherlands to the decider in 2019, when they lost 2-0 to the United States.

The Dutch coach said she had learnt lessons from that defeat, but cautioned that "this is a whole new situation, I'm coaching another team".

"I think England is in a very good place, everyone is fit. We have grown through the tournament, we've grown in confidence and we are just preparing as we always do," she added.