Sweden earns third place at World Cup: A fan's reaction

Posted Tuesday, July 19, 2011 by YAHOO Sport

On July 16, Sweden beat France and earned third place at the 2011 Women's World Cup. Ending the match with a score of 2-1, Sweden was able to win the game despite losing a member of the team. A late goal allowed Sweden to break the tie and leave the championship with a bronze medal.

Early Lead at the Women's World Cup

Sweden gained an early lead with a goal by Lotta Schelin in the 29th minute. Unfortunately, France goalkeeper Berangere Sapowicz hurt her ankle during the scuffle and had to be replaced by Celine Deville. France's Louisa Necib was also replaced because of a knee injury. France was able to recover and tie the score in the 56th minute with a goal from Elodie Thomis. However, later attempts to score failed, and Sweden was able to take the lead back in the 82nd minute with a goal from Marie Hammarstrom.

Red Card Behavior at the Women's World Cup

In the 68th minute of the match, Sweden's Josefine Oqvist received a red card and was forced to leave the game. Her challenge with France's Sonia Bompastor ended with both of them in the grass and kicking each other. The referee must have seen Josefine kicking Sonia in the chest. However, the crowd did not react well to the referee's decision, and it was easy to hear the boos directed at Sonia through the remainder of the game. Sweden was reduced to 10 players for the rest of the match, but this did not have a large impact.

The End for France

Although France controlled possession and made twice as many shots at this Women's World Cup game, the team was not able to stop Sweden. Despite losing a player during the match, Sweden continued to strive for goals and kept its attacking mindset. On the other hand, the two early substitutions for France had a great impact on the rest of the team. I think the roster suffered greatly after the loss of midfielder Louisa Necib. In addition, the results may have been different with goalkeeper Sapowicz in the game instead of Deville.

The strong offense and defense we have seen from France during the rest of the Women's World Cup seemed to be missing at the July 16 game. Sweden was determined to win and walked away from the game with the honor of third place at the 2011 Women's World Cup.