Sweden live to fight for another day at the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup... for now. Luckily for Pia Sundhage's side, with help from other's around the other groups, the Swedes have a good chance of advancing into the knockout round. The 4-0 defeat that Germany laid on Thailand could be a potential savior for the team as Sweden only received one point against Australia, another setback in an unimpressive tournament.
It only took five minutes for Sweden's defense to be broken down by the Aussies. A ball from Laura Alleway fell into the path of striker Lisa De Vanna who calmly finished off the brilliant play with a goal and her second of the tournament. After Australia fell back into a defensive mode, Sweden hit back with an equalizer, a 21-yard strike which found the lower corner of the net by Sofia Jakobsson. For the remainder of the match opportunities were limited and it was a tactically challenging match that ended 1-1 between the two sides. Elation for Australia, but for Sweden the game left much anxiety for what is to come.
Sweden are currently in position to advance into the World Cup kockout round but all could change come Wednesday night. At this moment of time, Sweden is ahold of the third qualifying spot of all third placed teams in the tournament. Since only 24 teams feature in the Women's World Cup, the top four third-placed also advance to the knockout rounds along with the first and second placed teams in the groups.
The Swedes are safe as of now but could be eliminated from the competition if results are not in their favor. Two key games to watch regarding the fate of the Swedish side are Mexico-France and Spain-South Korea. If Spain defeat South Korea and Costa Rica get a result against Brazil in the same group, then Sweden would be pushed to the last third-placed team able to qualify. Lastly, if France and England gain results in their matches, Sweden could be eliminated entirely. There are many "if's" regarding the possibility of Sweden, number five in the world, bowing out of the tournament but anything can happen. It is the World Cup for crying out loud and there have been crazy results in the past years.
For Australia, the match was well played against Sweden. The game plan was to get a result against a stronger team and the Aussies went out and earned a result, even outplayed Sweden for most of the match. With a draw, Australia locked up second place in the group and have a date in the knockout round with Brazil.
The final standings in Group D are now set in stone. The United States handled an energized Nigeria squad on Tuesday which allowed for the Yanks to go 2-1-0 in the group stage with seven points. Australia finished second with a 1-1-1 record and receiving four points. Sweden are living on a prayer after drawing with Australia. At 0-3-0 in group play, Sweden have three points which is still not known to be enough with other fixtures still yet to be played. Lastly, Nigeria finish the tournament 0-1-2 and one point to their name, including an intense 3-3 draw with Sweden in the first match for both sides.