Sweden and World Cup co-hosts Australia will look to end their FIFA Women’s World Cup campaigns on a high in the third place playoff in Brisbane.
Both sides were on the wrong end of heartbreaking defeats in the semifinals, with Sweden rocked by a late Olga Carmona screamer for Spain in Auckland and a clinical, effective performance from England eliminating Australia 3-1 in Sydney despite a Sam Kerr wonder goal.
It is not the final game of the World Cup either side wanted but it gives both a chance to rotate their sides somewhat and give some fringe players valuable minutes at a World Cup. For Australia, it is a chance for a happy farewell from around 50,000 fans after their brilliant run at the tournament, where they have united a country and smashed attendance and viewing records for the sport domestically.
Tony Gustavsson’s team will be desperate to clinch third place, which would be their best ever World Cup finish, and we can still expect to see a strong lineup from both sides and an entertaining clash.
The Sporting News is tracking live scoring updates and highlights for Sweden vs Australia at the 2023 World Cup. Follow for complete results from the third place playoff match in Australia.
MORE: Sweden vs Australia betting preview
Sweden vs Australia live score
| Score | Goalscorers | |
| Sweden | — | — |
| Australia | — | — |
Projected lineups:
- Sweden projected starting lineup (4-2-3-1): 12. Falk (GK) — 4. Lennartsson, 13. Ilestedt, 14. Bjorn, 5. Sandberg — 20. Bennison, 17. Seger — 22. Schough, 7. Janogy, 10. Jakobsson — 15. Blomqvist
- Australia projected starting lineup (4-4-2): 12. Micah (GK) — 22. Grant, 15. Hunt, 4. Polkinghorne, 7. Catley — 5. Vine, 6. Wheeler, 23. Cooney-Cross, 9. Foord — 11. Fowler, 20. Kerr
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Sweden vs Australia live updates, highlights from 2023 World Cup
1hr 30 mins from kickoff: Well, well, well, the team news is in, and in a change to what is traditionally seen in this match, both sides have opted to make no changes from their semifinal defeats, and are opting to go into this match full strength. This means the likes of Zecira Musovic, Fridlolina Rolfo and Stina Blackstenius start for Sweden, and the Matildas will once again opt for Sam Kerr and Mary Fowler up top. It is surprising to see Australia make no changes, especially as they seemed to be heavily affected by fatigue in their loss to the Lionesses on Wednesday.
- Sweden starting lineup (4-2-3-1): 1. Zecira Musovic (GK) — 2. Jonna Andersson, 13. Amanda Ilestedt, 6. Magdalena Eriksson, 14. Nathalie Bjorn — 16. Filipp Angeldal, 23. Elin Rubensson — 19. Johanna Kaneryd, 9. Kosovare Asllani, 18. Fridolina Rolfo — 11. Stina Blackstenius
Mot VM-bronset – TILLSAMMANS 💛💙#SWE | #FIFAWWC
— Svensk Fotboll (@svenskfotboll) August 19, 2023
- Australia starting lineup (4-4-2): 18. Arnold (GK) — 21. Carpenter, 15. Hunt, 4. Polkinghorne, 7. Catley — 16. Raso, 19. Gorry, 23. Cooney-Cross, 9. Foord — 11. Fowler — 20. Kerr
📋 Bronze Medal Match ready ✅
Our last lineup of this unforgettable #FIFAWWC is IN.#Matildas #TilitsDone pic.twitter.com/gwHRpm23PP
— CommBank Matildas (@TheMatildas) August 19, 2023
2 hrs from kickoff: Hello and welcome to The Sporting News’ live coverage of the 2023 Women’s World Cup third place playoff match between Sweden and Australia!
After their World Cup dreams came to an end in the semifinals, both teams will want to bounce back and end their campaigns on a positive note by clinching bronze medals, while 50,000 Australia fans will relish the chance to celebrate their World Cup heroes for a final time after their magical journey.
Expect to see some changes from both sides, who will still field strong teams and likely produce an entertaining game of football!
Battle for bronze 💪🥉
⚽: #SWEvAUS
⏰: 6:00pm AEST
🏟: Brisbane Stadium
📺💻📱: LIVE on @Channel7 & @OptusSport#Matildas #FIFAWWC #TilitsDone pic.twitter.com/OG0KFOwlZw— CommBank Matildas (@TheMatildas) August 18, 2023
Sweden vs Australia lineups, team news
It is always difficult to predict lineups for third place playoff matches, as coaches often use the game as an opportunity to rotate and give more minutes to players who haven’t featured prominently at the tournament.
This means for Sweden we may see the likes of Olivia Schough, Jennifer Falk and Madelen Janogy start for just the second time this tournament in the wing and attacking midfield spots, with their first games coming in the final group stage match against Argentina.
Among the rotation, coach Peter Gerhardsson may look to keep centre-back Amanda Ilestedt in the side so she can chase the top goalscorer record for the tournament, which is a remarkable sentence to write given he role as a defender.
- Sweden projected starting lineup (4-2-3-1): 12. Falk (GK) — 4. Lennartsson, 13. Ilestedt, 14. Bjorn, 5. Sandberg — 20. Bennison, 17. Seger — 22. Schough, 7. Janogy, 10. Jakobsson — 15. Blomqvist
Australia have used the fewest players of any side off the bench and generally rotated the least in the tournament, to the frustration of fans; whether Tony Gustavsson chooses to change that here and give some players who have played no minutes their chance at a home World Cup remains to be seen, as he and the team will be desperate to claim third place as co-hosts.
If Australia opt to make changes, the likes of Courtney Nevin and Charli Grant could occupy the full-back spots, while Clare Wheeler, Tameka Yallop and Alex Chidiac are candidates to start in the midfield.
It is not known if Alanna Kennedy will have recovered from the illness that kept her out of the semifinals, with Clare Polkinghorne and Aivi Luik in line to take her place if she cannot recover in time. Kyah Simon may play her first minutes in any football since October off the bench.
It is likely that Gustavsson will opt for a middle-of-the-road approach in terms of rotating the side, while still putting in a strong lineup to fight for the third place spot and finish a great tournament for the country on a high.
- Australia projected starting lineup (4-4-2): 12. Micah (GK) — 22. Grant, 15. Hunt, 4. Polkinghorne, 7. Catley — 5. Vine, 6. Wheeler, 23. Cooney-Cross, 9. Foord — 11. Fowler, 20. Kerr
Sweden vs Australia live stream, TV channel
The third placed playoff will be available around the world, with Channel Seven making the game available for free in Australia, where viewership records have been smashed during the World Cup.
| TV channel | Streaming | |
| USA | FOX, Telemundo, UNIVERSO | Fubo, Fox Sports site/app, Peacock, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo (Spanish), UNIVERSO NOW (Spanish) |
| UK | ITV 1 UK, RTE 2, STV Scotland | ITVX, RTE Player, BBC Sport Web |
| Australia | Optus Sport, Channel Seven | Optus Sport, 7Plus |
| Canada | TSN1, TSN 4, TSN 5, RDS | TSN+, RDS app |
| India | — | FanCode |
| New Zealand | Sky Sport 1 NZ, Prime TV | Sky Sport NOW, Prime TV |
| Singapore | FIFA WWC CH01 | meWATCH |
| Hong Kong | Now Sports Prime | Now Player |
| Malaysia | — | FIFA+ |
Fans in select regions of the world can stream the Women’s World Cup live on FIFA+, including in Japan, Brazil, Indonesia and Thailand.
