Bronze medal
July 16, 2011
Sweden took third place in the Women's World Cup on Saturday, defeating France 2-1 despite playing with only 10 players in the final minutes of the match.
"It was very important to us, we absolutely wanted to win the match," Sweden's coach Thomas Dennerby said. "After losing to Japan we wanted to show everyone that we could come back as a team."
Star striker Lotta Schelin put Sweden ahead in the first-half when she scored on a pass from defender Sara Larsson against France's goalkeeper Berangere Sapowicz in the 29th minute.
Sapowicz was stretchered away after hurting her ankle trying to block Schelin's shot. The injury came shortly after French midfielder Louisa Nécib had to leave the match due to a knee injury.
"It's difficult when you lose two players at once," French coach Bruno Bini said.
"We lost although we played well," he added.
French substitute Elodie Thomis managed to equalize the match in the 56th minute by rolling the ball past Sweden's goalkeeper Hedvig Lindahl.
Swedish victory
The Swedes were reduced to 10 players when striker Josefine Oqvist received a red card in the 68th minute for lashing out, resulting in a tense final leg to the match.
Substitute midfielder Marie Hammarstrom, who had came off the bench an hour into play, secured the bronze medal for Sweden when she scored in the 82nd minute by controlling the ball with her chest and shooting from an angle that left France's substitute goalkeeper Celine Deville helpless.
Both Sweden and France had already secured the two available European places in the 2012 Olympic Games in London by making it to the semi-finals.
The United States and Japan are set to face off on Sunday for the Women's World Cup title.
Author: Spencer Kimball (AFP, dpa)
Editor: Andreas Illmer