Australia vs. Sweden, 2023 Women’s World Cup 3rd place match: Match thread and discussion

We have reached the final weekend of the 2023 Women’s World Cup, and we begin with the match that no one wants to play. The 3rd place match takes place this morning in Brisbane, and Australia and Sweden will have to set aside the heartbreak they experienced from losing their semifinals to go on the field one more time to try and claim 3rd place in the tournament.

This is a familiar match for Sweden, as they have played in the 3rd place match 3 times previously, including in 2019. They have won the match each time they’ve appeared in it, and they’ll hope to bring that same magic to win their final match. They lost to Spain 2-1 after extra time in the semifinals, fighting back to equalize the match once but not being able to do so a second time. They’ll want to end on a high note and secure the bronze medal to take back to Sweden.

On the other side is Australia, the co-hosts who lost to England 3-1 in their semifinal on Wednesday. The Matildas have carried the hopes of a nation to its strongest finish ever at a Women’s World Cup, and they captivated the whole country on their run to this point. They’ll now have to stash the sadness to try and win one more match to claim a bronze medal. This is the 2nd straight 3rd place match they have been in, as they lost to the USWNT at the 2020 Olympics. They want to have the medal ceremony after this match, which would be a fantastic salute to the fans that have supported them faithfully throughout this tournament.

It should be a match that starts out slow and then picks up once both teams settle into it. In any case, it will be a match to watch as both teams hope to entertain the fans one final time.

How to watch

Sweden vs. Australia

Location: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane

Kick-off time: 4:00am Eastern, 1:00am Pacific

Available TV: Fox (English), Telemundo (Spanish), Universo (Spanish)

Available streaming: Fox Sports (App/Website), Peacock (App/Website), Telemundo (App/Website), FuboTV (Free Trial)

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