BRISBANE — Australia already captivated a nation as co-hosts of the Women’s World Cup. Now there’s one more thing to play for, even if it’s not the fairytale ending the team had wanted for this tournament.
The Matildas play Sweden on Saturday for third place in Brisbane. Australia lost 3-1 to England in the semi-finals on Wednesday, dashing hopes of playing in the title match.
The third-ranked Swedes are playing in their second straight bronze medal match, having finished third at the 2019 World Cup. They came up short in their title bid again on Tuesday, losing 2-1 to Spain in the semi-final in Auckland.
“I love it, it’s a particular feeling to have an entire stadium against you,” Sweden forward Kosovare Asllani told reporters on Friday. “Of course, we were disappointed after the last match. We wanted to go all the way to the final.
“I know we’ve got the support of everyone, I know that they’re still going to come out to the game against Sweden,” Australia midfielder Katrina Gorry said according to Reuters.
“I know they’re always going to have our backs, but yeah, it’s just disappointing. You never want to do that on home soil.”
Indeed, the fans came out for the Matildas during their World Cup journey.
Bars and restaurants were packed around Sydney and there were live watching parties across the country for the semifinal. The sold-out crowd at Stadium Sydney was announced at 75,784, with even more gathered outside.
Australia’s men’s basketball team, the Boomers, were slated to play a tune-up game against Brazil on Wednesday night in preparation for their World Cup but moved the game up two hours to watch the Matildas in the semifinals.
Despite star Sam Kerr’s stunning goal for the hosts, the team couldn’t get by England. Even after the disappointing loss, a sign in a shop window on Sydney’s George Street read “Thank you Matildas.”
“Hopefully this has been life-changing for women’s football in Australia,” Kerr said.
“I don’t think this was once in a lifetime. If you bring the product to the show, we’ve proven people will come out and support it.
“Hopefully we’ll get a few new fans that will stick around. Now it is time for funding and all of that stuff to be invested in the game because we’ve shown we can play the game.”
Kerr, one of the best players in the world, struggled with a calf injury at the start of the tournament, but started against England. She was a second-half substitute in the Matildas’ shootout victory over France in the quarterfinals.
Sweden was similarly disappointed to once again be out of the running for the title. The Swedes fell 2-1 to Spain on Tuesday night in Auckland.
Sweden, ranked third in the World, has never won a World Cup title. The Swedes were runners-up in 2003 to Germany and they’ve won the third-place match three times, including four years ago in France.
The Swedes were also silver medalists in both the Tokyo Olympics and the Rio Games in 2016.
“I’m tired of crying big tournament tears,” Sweden captain Kosovare Asllani said.
The Swedes made a mark on the tournament in the round of 16 when they ended the US team’s run toward an unprecedented third consecutive World Cup title.
Zecira Musovic had a World Cup record 11 saves and Sweden advanced on penalties after a scoreless draw — sending the Americans home earlier than ever before.
Sweden has some individual achievements to play for in its final match, including the Golden Boot award. Amanda Ilestedt has four goals, just one behind tournament leader Hinata Miyazawa of Japan.
Saturday’s match will be the last for Sweden midfielder Caroline Seger, who has played in five World Cups. She has battled a calf injury throughout the tournament and has played only sparingly.
Seger has appeared in 235 matches for Sweden, most of any player, man or woman. She did not play in the team’s knockout round matches. Should she play on Saturday, it would be her 21st appearance in a World Cup for Sweden, breaking former goalkeeper Hedvig Lindahl’s record.
For both teams there’s also financial incentive.
At this World Cup, FIFA designated individual bonuses for the players out of the prize money pool. Each player in the tournament earned a base of $30,000, which grew as their teams progressed. Players on the third-place winning team will be due $185,000.
“At the same time, playing for a medal is a huge thing, and something that we’re proud of. We don’t want to leave here without it. We want to silence the stadium and bring that medal home,” forward Asllani added.
“Everyone’s more than ready … We’re going to do everything we can to win this medal for Sweden.”
Australia, who beat Sweden 4-0 in Melbourne last November, lost 3-1 to England in their semi-final, with talismanic captain Sam Kerr scoring a stunning goal.
Kerr made her first start of the tournament in that match and her Chelsea team mate Magdalena said she was delighted the striker had recovered from a calf injury that had ruled her out of the group stage.
“Her path through the tournament, the way she’s been gradually phased in, she deserves that,” Sweden defender Eriksson said. “As a footballer and on a personal level, I’m really happy that she managed to recover
“She has amazing skills as a footballer … absolutely world class. We need to keep an eye on her, but it’s not as if they don’t have other players that have good quality.
“I was so disappointed after that match (against Spain) and during that evening, but the next day I just felt this hunger growing. I’m so proud of our journey and what we’ve done so far in this tournament. Now we just have to end it on a high.”
