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Harry Awurumibe, Live in France
Team Sweden celebrating their Bronze medal finish after defeating England 2-1 in the Third-place match in Nice Saturday
Two goals in the first 22 minutes by Sweden helped them to grind out a 2-1 victory over England today in the cagey classification match and a reward of Bronze medal finish in the 8th FIFA Women’s World Cup played at Allianze Riviera in Nice.
After taking an early two-goal lead it looked like this could be a comfortable path towards bronze for the Swedes but it was far from it. Kosovare Asllani put Sweden in front with only 11 minutes on the clock and Sofia Jakobsson made it two goals in 22nd minute of the encounter before England pulled themselves back into the match.
England fought gallantly and Fran Kirby was on target in 31st minute after a good play by England forward. But what would have been the equalizer for England and the seventh goal by Ellen White was ruled a hand ball by VAR.
And with Fridolina Rolfö forced to leave the pitch injured and Kosovare Asllani having to go off at half-time, Sweden lost the momentum and control they previously had in the game. Instead, it became a fight against the clock to not let in a second goal before the final whistle.
Peter Gerhardsson, the Swedish made his third and defensive substitution taking Ilestedt on instead of Nathalie Björn, creating a five man defence and do anything to stop the ball coming through and it worked. On Wednesday, the Swedish players cried of sadness – tonight it was of happiness, relief and pride. They came here ranked ninth in the world, and are coming home with a bronze medal.
England finished their World Cup adventure with back-to-back defeats which will sting for some time. But it was not for a lack of trying, as they ploughed deep into Sweden’s half in the second half, and Nilla Fischer was called upon to clear Lucy Bronze’s thunderbolt off the goal-line. Desperation eventually got the better of them, after three earlier minutes of wonder saw the ball in the back of the net twice – until VAR intervened, ultimately killing off Ellen White’s dream of the adidas Golden Boot. Karen Carney’s retirement gave England added impetus to take home bronze not just for themselves, their supporters and the country – but also for the tricky midfielder known as ‘the Wizard’. Ultimately, it was not to be – and the Lionesses finish fourth in France.
Speaking after the match, Phil Neville, England coach said “I just think maybe there was a carry-on from the semi final – the emotion. The two [Sweden] goals sparked us into life I don’t think I’ve seen us play better than after that first 20 minutes. Both teams were on their knees, they gave everything. We came to this tournament to win it, not to finish fourth. We gave it our best shot, we fell short – we just need to make sure that next time we’re better’’.
His Sweden opposite number, Peter Gerhardsson said “We fought incredibly hard in the second half. I got the impression that it was like an old boxing match. It was a strange game. Above all, the players’ way of tactically, mentally and physically tackling it was amazing. There were several leaders out on the pitch who contributed to players who were not as experienced.”
However, when Sweden plays a FIFA Women’s World Cup match for Third place, they take home the bronze. In their third play-off for third, they took home bronze once more (after 1991 and 2011) while the Three Lionesses are going home empty-handed, while the Swedish celebrations continue into the Nice night.
Attention will now shift to the epic final between defending champions, United States of America (USA) and newcomers and European champions, Netherlands tomorrow at Lyon Olympic Stadium.