It was meant to end on a high. One final box to tick to cap off the Matildas’ record-breaking World Cup campaign on home soil. But from the first whistle of their third-place playoff game against Sweden it looked unlikely to happen. A first-half penalty by Fridolina Rolfö and a second-half cracker from captain Kosovare Asllani decisively put Australia in fourth place at this tournament. By no means a failure, although it would have felt like that to the players.
It started as a classy display of possession football by Sweden but progressively descended into chaos as the first half progressed. Sweden dominated early and a masterclass from Asllani and Stina Blackstenius brought Mackenzie Arnold into action within a minute of play. Veteran defender Clare Polkinghorne, in the starting XI due to Alanna Kennedy’s concussion-enforced absence, lunged with all her weight towards Asllani who was able to easily sidestep her and find Blackstenius in space.
