3rd Place Match: France vs. Sweden

France (#7) vs. Sweden (#5)
Sinsheim (11:30 am eastern)

Last Meeting: Sweden 3, France 1 (March 14, 2007)

France
Coach: Bruno Bini
WC Matches: Defeated Nigeria 1-0; Defeated Canada 4-0, Lost to Germany 2-4, Defeated England 1-1 (4-3 PK); Lost to United States 1-3.

Roster:
Goalkeepers: Berangere Sapowicz (4 gms, 1.34 gaa, 2 shutouts); Celine Deville (2 gms, 1.90 gaa), Laetitia Philippe.
Defenders: Laura Georges (5 gms, 1 goal); Laure LePailleur (5 gms); Sonia Bompastor (4 gms, 1 goal); Sabrina Viguier (2 gms); Ophelie Meilleroux (2 gms); Wendie Renard (2 gms), Corine Franco.
Midfielders: Elise Bussaglia (5 gms, 1 goal); Gaetane Thiney (5 gms, 2 goals); Camille Abily (5 gms, 1 goal, 1 assist); Louisa Necib (5 gms, 1 assist); Sandrine Soubeyrand (5 gms, 2 assists); Laure Boulleau (2 gms); Caroline Pizzala.
Forwards: Marie-Laure Delie (5 gms, 2 goals); Elodie Thomis (5 gms, 1 goal); Eugenie LeSommer (5 gms, 1 assist); Sandrine Bretigny (1 gm).

Sweden
Coach: Thomas Dennerby
WC Matches: Defeated Colombia 1-0; Defeated Korea DPR 1-0; Defeated United States 2-1; Defeated Australia 3-1; Lost to Japan 1-3.

Roster:
Goalkeepers: Hedvig Lindahl (5 gms, 1.00 gaa, 2 shutouts); Kristin Hammarstrom, Sofia Lundgren.
Defenders: Charlotte Rohlin (5 gms); Sara Thunebro (5 gms); Sara Larsson (5 gms); Annica Svensson (5 gms); Linda Sembrandt (1 gm); Lina Nilsson (1 gm).
Midfielders: Lisa Dahlkvist (5 gms, 3 goals); Therese Sjogran (5 gms, 1 goal, 2 assists); Linda Forsberg (5 gms); Caroline Seger (3 gms); Nilla Fischer (4 gms, 1 goal); Marie Hammarstrom (2 gms); Sofia Jakobsson (2 gms); Antonia Goransson (2 gms).
Forwards: Lotta Schelin (5 gms, 1 goal, 2 assists); Josefine Oqvist (4 gms, 1 goal); Jessica Landstrom (3 gms, 1 goal); Madelaine Edlund (2 gms).

Both of these two teams have to be disappointed that they are not playing Sunday for the World Cup, instead of Saturday for 3rd place. Sweden grabbed the early lead against Japan and were tied until the 60th minute, but just didn't look to be the same team that won their first four matches in Germany.

France tied their match against the United States in the 2nd half and certainly looked to be outplaying them, before giving up two goals in the last 15 minutes. France can take heart in that their two defeats in this tournament were to the two top ranked teams in the world heading in. They can also be proud in that this will be their highest World Cup finish ever.

One never knows quite how coaches will approach a third place match. Certainly the pressure is now off for Bruno Bini and Thomas Dennerby. Caroline Seger has been nursing an injury and sadly missed Wednesday's semifinal match. Her presence was greatly missed by Sweden.

It will be interesting to see if the two coaches try to play some of their younger players or if they attempt to get everyone into the match that hasn't played yet. Of course, everyone has played in at least one match for Sweden, save for their two backup goalkeepers, Kristin Hammarstrom and Sofia Lundgren. For France, third keeper Laetitia Philippe, defender Corine Franco, and midfielder Caroline Pizzala have not yet seen action.

For some of these players, it will be their last World Cup game. Certainly, that is the case for Sandrine Soubeyrand of France, who will be the oldest player for either team at age 37. She now has over 160 caps in her great career. Sweden's all-time cap leader, Therese Sjogran, will likely be playing in her last World Cup match as well. Probably the same could be said of defender Sara Larsson.

It is very surprising that these two European powers have not met since the 2007 Algarve Cup, over four years ago. Sweden won that meeting 3-1. Josefine Oqvist scored the first goal in that match.

Another prize up for grabs is the Adidas Golden Boot award. Heading into this weekend's matches, Marta and Homare Sawa are tied with four goals. Sawa has one game remaining. Just one goal behind them is Sweden's Lisa Dahlkvist with three. Both Gaetane Thiney and Marie-Laure Delie have two for France and are certainly not out of the running.

While third place is the prize for this match, the two teams will really be playing more for pride than anything else. The winner will finish third and can claim to be the top finishing European team in the tournament.

Sweden Gains Semifinals with 3-1 Win over Matildas

Sweden scored two early goals and cruised to a 3-1 victory over Australia on Sunday. And it's fair to say that they were very opportunistic, taking advantage of every opening that their opponent gave them.

Miscues in the back once again cost Australia, a recurring theme over the past two weeks. Lotta Schelin pounced on one such opportunity and finally got her first goal of this World Cup.

Thomas Dennerby went with nearly the same eleven as the last match, except for the returning Caroline Seger who was back in the lineup after her suspension for yellow card accumulation. Tom Sermanni elected to move Caitlin Foord into a midfield position and inserted Ellyse Perry at right back.

Australia nearly handed Sweden a goal in the opening minutes. They played the ball back from the midfield to the back line with Kim Carroll getting there first. Carroll meekly hit the ball back toward Melissa Barbieri in goal, but didn't get anything on the pass and Lotta Schelin intercepted, but her first touch was a bit heavy and Barbieri came sliding out to cover it up.

Australia had their first chance with a Perry cross from the right side being sent into the box, with Charlotte Rohlin redirecting the ball wide with a header in the 7th minute.

Sweden opened the scoring in the 10th minute. Lotta Schelin beat Perry around the left side and dribbled toward the box along the endline. She sent a cross back toward the center, where veteran Therese Sjogran was waiting unmarked. Sjogran hit her 12 yard shot low inside the left post. Barbieri dived and might have gotten a hand on it, but it got through and Sweden were on top 1-0.

Just six minutes later, it was Sjogran in possession on the left wing. She cut back on Perry and hit a right-footed cross to a totally unmarked Lisa Dahlqvist at the six yard box, centered perfectly in front of the goal. Dahlkvist put her uncontested header into the right side of the net and Australia was down 2-0 just 16 minutes into the match.

Schelin almost had her first goal in the 26th minute, but her drive from a steep angle on the left side went high and wide to the right.

Swedish goalkeeper Hedvig Lindahl made an adventure of a few plays today. In the 38th minute, Collette McCallum sent in a free kick from 35 yards that Lindahl appeared to misjudge, running up as the ball sailed over her head...and luckily for her, just wide of the right post.

But Perry, who had been somewhat victimized earlier in the match, gave the Matildas life in the 40th minute. McCallum played a short corner from the right side to Perry, who touched the ball toward the corner of the penalty area. Her left-footed shot from 22 yards couldn't have been more perfectly placed into the upper left corner of the goal, beating Lindahl and bringing Australia to within one. The halftime score was Sweden 2, Australia 1.

The Aussies looked dangerous to start the second half, as they tried to target the Swedish right side defense. However, a couple of half chances didn't quite come to fruitition and they were unable to tie the match.

Australia gift-wrapped a goal for the Swedes in the 52nd minute and once again, it was a defensive miscue that led to it. Carroll had possession near the center line and under some pressure, elected to play the ball back, apparently to Barbieri, although that is somewhat unclear. As it turned out, Carroll's pass hit Schelin perfectly in stride and she walked in alone on Barbieri. Schelin touched the ball to the right of Barbieri, while she went to the left. The two met behind the Australian keeper and it was just a matter of touching it into the goal. Schelin finally had her goal and Sweden had a safe two goal lead once again.

Tom Sermanni used his first two subs in the 58th minute, sending in Tameka Butt and Clare Polkinghorne for Perry and Emily Van Egmond.

Australia certainly did not give up and probably created more chances than Sweden in the last 45 minutes, but they just couldn't get back in the match. Butt, made her presence known in the 63rd minute, crossing the ball to the back post to Kyah Simon, but the striker put her header wide of the left post.

Lindahl once again made things interesting in the 66th minute as Lisa De Vanna broke into the left side of the penalty area. She tried to slide out, but the ball eluded her and De Vanna was able to get off an unmolested cross from the left side. Unfortunately for her, nobody was making a run to the goal and the ball harmlessly flew through to the other side and was cleared.

Sweden made their first change in the 67th minute sending in Nilla Fischer, who had had such a strong game against the US a few days ago, to replace Linda Forsberg.

The teams traded chances over the next 15 minutes. A Heather Garriock shot was partially blocked going right into the hands of Lindahl in the 71st minute. Later, Tameka Butt hit a blast from distance, with Lindahl tipping the ball wide just to be safe.

Meanwhile, Sweden had opportunities as well. Josefine Oqvist had back-to-back chances in the 78th minute, with her first shot being blocked by Barbieri and then her rebound shot was blocked by Servet Uzunlar. A minute later, Caroline Seger hit a shot from the right corner, which forced Barbieri to make a leaping save at the near post. She nearly lost her balance and reached backwards, holding the ball even with the goal line before bracing herself against the post and not allowing the ball to cross.

Sweden was able to play through the last few minutes without much pressure and they held on for the 3-1 victory, which by quarterfinal standards in this World Cup, was relatively easy. They have done a very good job of taking advantage of their opponents' mistakes in the last couple of games. Sweden appears to be on a roll right now and will now face Japan on Wednesday in the semifinals in what should be a very good matchup.

As for the Matildas, they must be given a lot of credit for a good run in this tournament. They are one of the younger squads at this World Cup and as they gain more experience and if they can address their defensive problems, should be a force to contend with in the future.

Sweden 1, Korea DPR 0

In almost a carbon copy of the first match for Sweden, they defeated Korea DPR 1-0, putting themselves in good position to advance to the quarterfinals. A tie or win by the United States will clinch a quarterfinal berth for Sweden.

Once again, Sweden had trouble putting away their chances. Once again, they were not dominant. And once again, they were able to get a second half goal to win the match. Korea, while they did well with possession at stretches throughout the match, really had very few threatening chances.

Like Tuesday, Sweden had an early chance to jump out on top. Lotta Schelin was open on the left side of the box, running onto a long ball out of the back, but her shot went just high and just wide left from 15 yards away. Like Jessica Landstrom in the match against Colombia, Schelin has a frustrating first half, missing out on golden opportunities.

There were few Korean chances in the opening 45 minutes and then from distance, like Kim Su Gyong's attempt from 28 yards in the sixth minute that went harmlessly wide. Their best chance of the first half was a cross from Song Jong Sun from the right side in the 19th minute. Kim was able to get a cleaner header on it, but the shot went well wide of the right post.

In the 30th minute, Caroline Seger sent Schelin in on the right side of the box, but Schelin did not get over the ball properly and her shot sailed high and wide to the right. Sweden's last chance of the half was Jessica Landstrom's attempt from 25 yards that sailed over the crossbar in the 42nd minute.

Sweden continued to press in the second half. Schelin sent the ball to Lisa Dahlqvist in the box, but Hong Myong Hui came out to deflect the ball wide. Five minutes later, a corner kick resulted in a scramble in the box after Hong was unable to get to the ball. Dahlqvist's shot from 15 yards was blocked by the defense and the ball was cleared.

Seger picked up a yellow card in the 59th minute, which was about the last thing Sweden needed. It was her second yellow of the tournament and she will now be forced to miss the upcoming match against the United States.

Swedish pressure finally paid off in the 64th minute. The Swedes reversed the ball from the right to the left with the ball coming to the feet of Linda Forsberg. She hit a right-footed inswinging cross to the far post. Therese Sjogran headed the ball back to the middle to an unmarked Dahlkvist, who blasted the ball into the net from only four yards out.

Korea's best chances seemed to come off of corner kicks, in spite of Sweden's height. In the 73rd minute, a Korean corner came into the six yard box. Both Ri Ye Gyong and Ri Un Hyang went up for the header, with it appearing that Ri U. H. making contact. The ball was headed toward the net, but Sara Thunebro was waiting on the line to clear it with her head.

In the 75th minute, Seger forced a turnover and sent the ball down the middle to Schelin. This time Schelin forced Hong to make a diving save on her low shot from 15 yards.

Korea tried to get an equalizer in the 80th minute as Ri Ye Gyong placed a cross into the box from the right side, but Lindahl anticipated nicely and grabbed the ball in front of Ra Un Sim.

Sweden was able to keep Korea from getting the ball up the field for most of the last ten minutes as time ticked away on the Koreans. It wasn't necessarily pretty, but Sweden had once again gotten the job done. Hedvig Lindahl earned the shutout for Sweden and Thunebro saved the day off the line late in the match. Meanwhile, Swedish forwards continued to struggle with their finishing touch.

The upside is Sweden will almost surely go through to the quarterfinals. The bad news is that Seger will miss the match against the United States, which could be very important for placement into the quarters.

Sweden will meet the United States on Wednesday, while Korea DPR, who are now virtually eliminated will meet Colombia.