It's the game that no side wants to play in, but the World Cup third placed playoff between Sweden and co-hosts Australia offers both sides a chance to finish their tournament on a high whilst giving a chance to some of the fringe players in getting World Cup minutes.
It seemed Sweden's semifinal against Spain was heading for extra-time when Rebecka Blomqvist fired home a shot from close range to cancel out Spain's opener, but their World Cup dream was dashed just over 90 seconds later when Olga Carmona scored a stunning late winner for Spain.
For Australia, they fought valiantly against a strong and well drilled England side, and equalised with an amazing Sam Kerr goal, but England's quality shone through and the Lionesses defeated the Matildas 3-1, ending their magical run.
Whilst Australia is bitterly disappointed to not get the chance to win the final in front of their own fans, they still have the chance to finish third at the World Cup for the first time ever.
MORE: Sweden vs Australia live blog
What time is Sweden vs Australia kickoff?
The third placed playoff between Sweden and Australia will begin at 6:00 p.m. local time at Brisbane Stadium, the scene of Australia's famous penalty shootout win over France. Here is how that corresponds with regions around the world:
| Date | Kickoff time | |
| USA | Sat, August 19 | 4:00 a.m. ET |
| Canada | Sat, August 19 | 4:00 a.m. ET |
| UK | Sat, August 19 | 9:00 a.m. BST |
| Australia | Sat, August 19 | 6:00 p.m. AEST |
| India | Sat, August 19 | 1:30 p.m. IST |
| Hong Kong | Sat, August 19 | 4:00 p.m. HKT |
| Malaysia | Sat, August 19 | 4:00 p.m. MYT |
| Singapore | Sat, August 19 | 4:00 p.m. SGT |
| New Zealand | Sat, August 19 | 8:00 p.m. NZT |
MORE: 2023 Women's World Cup attendance tracker
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.
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 the side 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 game being the final group stage game against Argentina.
Amongst 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 she is 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 has been the side that has used the fewest players 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 still be desperate to claim third place as co-hosts.
If Australia opt to make changes, the likes of Courtney Nevin and Charli Grant could come in at the full-back spots, whilst 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 semifinal, with Clare Polkinghorne and Aivi Luik in line to step in her place if she cannot recover in time, whilst 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, whilst 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 betting odds
As third placed playoffs have far less meaning than many World Cup matches, teams often throw caution to the wind and play entertaining, attacking football often leading to a high scoring match.
Whilst the markets aren't necessarily predicting that to happen, it could be a good bet to capitalise on, especially given the attacking talent both sides possess.
| Sweden win (90 mins) | Draw | Australia win (90 mins) |
Both teams to score Y / N |
Over / Under 2.5 goals |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BetMGM (USA) |
+150 | +240 | +165 | -138 / -102 | -115 / -120 |
| Sports Interaction (Canada) |
2.50 | 3.20 | 2.60 | 1.67 / 1.96 | 1.90 / 1.81 |
| Top Betting Sites (UK) |
8/5 | 23/10 | 13/8 | 8/11, 21/20 | 10/11, 5/6 |
| Unibet (Australia) |
2.80 | 3.20 | 2.65 | 1.66 / 2.17 | 1.90 / 1.86 |
| Dafabet (India) |
2.50 | 3.08 | 2.54 | 1.68 / 2.05 | 1.88 / 1.82 |
Odds updated as of August 17