England vs Sweden result: Lionesses fall to Sweden in Women's World Cup third place play-off
Phil Neville's side ended their French adventure empty handed
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Your support makes all the difference.England missed out on a third-placed finish at the Women's World Cup as they were beaten 2-1 by Sweden in their play-off in Nice.
Sweden raced into a 2-0 lead at the Allianz Riviera, with Kosovare Asllani firing in in the 11th minute after an Alex Greenwood error and Sofia Jakobsson adding a fine strike in the 22nd. Phil Neville's Lionesses replied through Fran Kirby's left-footed effort just after the half-hour mark and two minutes later the ball was in the Swedes' net again courtesy of an Ellen White finish.
But, just had been the case in the 2-1 semi-final loss to the United States four days earlier, White had what she had thought was an equaliser disallowed following a VAR review.
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England 1-2 Sweden
90+3 minutes
Daly crosses from the right towards the back post, where Greenwood is waiting. She can't keep her effort down, though, and the ball flies over the bar. That might be England's final chance.
England 1-2 Sweden
90+4 minutes
Moore goes into the book for a cynical challenge to stop a Sweden breakaway. Seconds remain.
Full time: That's it! Sweden, whose players surge together in celebration, claim third place and England's tournament ends in more disappointment. In the end, that opening 25 minutes did for Phil Neville's team. They might have fought back, but couldn't find the equaliser in the second half.
That late Bronze chance very nearly salvaged a bronze medal for England. But it wasn't to be. The players are visibly upset in the middle, as they were against the US last week. But this, on the whole, has been another positive campaign for the Lionesses. They're not far away from the best in the world, and the intention will be to go one step further in four years time.
That's it for our coverage of today's third-place playoff. Attention now turns toward tomorrow's World Cup final. I'll leave you with Mark Critchley's match report from Nice. Thanks for joining me!
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