Nice, France- With the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup coming to a close, the bronze medal was up for grabs between Sweden and England. Sweden earned third place in the tournament with a 2-1 win as their first-half goals solidified the result of their performance.
“It’s a huge difference between winning a bronze medal and ending up fourth,” Sweden head coach Peter Gerhardsson said. “It’s more about the way we won this match. There were so many good performances, incredible moments. I thought it was very important to win this match.”
Sweden’s first goal came in the 11’ minute as England defender Alex Greenwood attempted to clear the ball, only to set up Sweden for an early lead. Midfielder Kosovare Asllani sent a right-footed shot to the net and scored on the Lionesses goalkeeper Carly Telford to give Sweden an early 1-0 advantage.
Sweden dominated in their possession of the ball early on in the first half, which saw another successful play for them in the 22’ minute. Forward Sofia Jakobsson dribbled towards the English defense in the box and before they could put a stop to her, she curved the ball on goal to solidify a 2-0 lead for Sweden.
England made a run down the field that immediately put Sweden in defense mode from a smooth pass up the field to Lioness midfielder Fran Kirby. Kirby cut the ball inward towards the goal and took her shot on goal that initially hit the bottom of the left crossbar and then bounced to the back of the net to put England 1-2.
The Lionesses used this goal as motivation and were back on Sweden’s side of the pitch. Forward Beth Mead crossed the ball to Ellen White, who has scored six goals for England within the tournament. White used her body to control the ball and then sent it to the back of the net to score her seventh goal.
The referee motioned for VAR review and confirmed that the goal that would’ve been the equalizer for England did not count as it was a handball on White within the box. By the end of the first half, Sweden still dominated in ball possession, but England was slowly working their way to the back of the net for a possible comeback.
Both sides continued to bring some potential plays to the field in the second half, but Sweden was focused on maintaining their lead as England almost caught up to them in the first half. Even late in the second half, England was still on the move for an equalizer.
On a corner kick in the 90’ minute, Sweden used a header to clear the ball until it came straight to Lucy Bronze, who took a shot on goal. Sweden was saved once again with a header off the line from Nilla Fischer to successfully clear the shot from Bronze.
“I suppose the proudest moment was the enjoyment my players had, the courage and bravery they played with together,” Sweden head coach Phil Neville said. “Everything I’ve wanted for 18 months – they’ve delivered everything I wanted. We’ve got another 15-20 percent to go. Theres many a champion that’s had to suffer before they get what they deserve. My players are suffering but I’m immensely proud. In two weeks time, we reset, debrief, and we get back on that horse again.”
SCORING SUMMARY:
SWE-Kosovare Asllani, 11’
SWE-Sofia Jakobsson, 22’
ENG-Fran Kirby, 31’
BOOKING SUMMARY:
SWE-Hedvig Lindahl, 85’ yellow card
ENG-Jade Moore, 90+4’ yellow card
SWEDEN: #1-Hedvig Lindahl, #3-Linda Sembrant, #4-Hanna Glas, #5-Nilla Fischer, #6-Mgdalena Eriksson, #9-Kosovare Asllani (#16-Julia Zigiotti, 46’), #10-Sofia Jakobsson, #11-Stina Blackstenius, #15-Nathalie Bjorn (#13-Amanda Ilestedt, 72’), #17-Caroline Seger, #18-Fridolina Rolfo (#8-Lina Hurtig, 27’)
Subs not used: #2-Jonna Andersson, #7-Madelen Janogy, #12-Jennifer Falk, #14-Julia Roddar, #19-Anna Anvegard, #20-Mimmi Larsson, #21-Zecira Musovic, #22-Olivia Schough, #23-Elin Rubensson
ENGLAND: #13-Carly Telford, #2-Lucy Bronze, #3-Alex Greenwood, #5-Steph Houghton, #7-Nikita Parris (#20-Karen Carney, 74’), #8-Jill Scott, #10-Fran Kirby, #15-Abbie McManus (#17-Rachel Daly, 83’), #16-Jade Moore, #18-Ellen White, #22-Beth Mead (#9-Jodie Taylor, 50’)
Subs not used: #1-Karen Bardsley, #4-Keira Walsh, #11-Toni Duggan, #12-Demi Stokes, #14-Leah Williamson, #19-Georgia Stanway, #21-Mary Earps, #23-Lucy Staniforth, #6-Millie Bright
TOTAL SHOTS: SWE 9-13 ENG
SHOTS ON GOAL: SWE 8-4 ENG
OFFSIDES: SWE 0-4 ENG
CORNERS: SWE 2-4 ENG
