Sweden and England would rather be preparing for the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup Finals (previewed here), but that’s not what the soccer gods have in their plans, as both teams will square off in the battle for third matchup in Nice after dropping their respective semifinals round assignments. For more about this matchup, check out our preview below.
England had high expectations set for themselves prior to the tournament, but they obviously fell short of their lofty goal of winning it all in France after losing to the mighty side in the semifinals, 2-1. They didn’t go down without a fight, though. England even had a better ball possession percentage in the USA game, having controlled the ball 53 percent of the time to 47 percent by the Americans. Sweden won just 42 percent of ball possession against the Netherlands, so that’s a good sign for England. Sweden will have their hands full containing England striker Ellen White, who is tied with USA’s Alex Morgan for most goals in the tournament with six. White struck again in the semis, scoring her team’s lone goal of the game at the 19th-minute mark. England can also take advantage of a seemingly slightly more fatigued Sweden side, which played through extra time in the semis.
Betting on Sweden (+425)
Sweden’s World Cup dreams ended in the semifinal round, as they got victimized by the Netherlands, 1-0. Sweden took a tie into the end of the 90-minute regulation mark, but didn’t do enough to prevent the Netherlands from coming away with the game-winning goal in extra time. Despite the loss, Sweden can take heart from the fact that they were able to go that deep in the tournament as the No. 9 ranked team. They were the lowest ranked team in the tournament to reach the semifinals. To get there, they had to take down third-ranked Germany in the quarterfinals and Canada in the Round of 16, which was another big upset victory for the team. With the kind of no-surrender mentality they have flashed for the most part of the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, Sweden surely have some left for a meeting with a favored England side. Kosovare Asllani and Stina Blackstenius lead Sweden at the World Cup with two goals apiece heading into the battle for third place game.
