Sweden defeated Australia 2-0 in the third-place playoff game in the FIFA Women's World Cup at Brisbane Stadium in Brisbane, Australia, on Saturday. It was the fourth time for the European heavyweights to finish in third place after appearing in eight editions of the tournament.

Despite the loss, Australia still set their best record in the World Cup.

Both teams are good at breaking through the opponent's defensive line via quick, simple counterattacks, and, thus, they were watching out for each other to carry out the move in Saturday's game.

Sweden outperformed Australia on this front as they set up multiple layers of defense with good flexibility from the midfield. Most of Australia's long passes failed to reach their players, not to mention that Swedish defenders always took quick control of the loose ball once it bounced onto the field.

Australia had the chance to score first when Hayley Raso received the cross on the left side of the box in the 23rd minute. Her shot was powerful enough but was blocked by goalkeeper Zecira Musovic.

Sweden soon returned the favor five minutes later by hitting the bar with a header, but their forward Stina Blackstenius was tackled down by Clare Hunt in the box at that moment. Having checked with the video assistant referee, the referee awarded Sweden a penalty kick. Fridolina Rolfo scored that penalty for her side, handing her side a 1-0 lead at halftime.

The fact that they were trailing forced Australia to press more forward and, as a result, left more open space for Sweden to exploit. Blackstenius received a long pass from her teammate on a counterattack in the 62nd minute. She controlled the ball in the box and drew attention from more defenders before passing it out to Kosovare Asllani at the top of the box. Asllani blew Australia's net again with a tricky shot, extending their lead to 2-0.

Australia missed their best chance to score in the 69th minute. Hunt passed the ball to Clare Polkinghorne, who was right in front of the goal, but Polkinghorne blew the ball right into Musovic, who parried it away.

The final between England and Spain will happen at Stadium Australia in Sydney on Sunday.