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Sweden beat England to Women's World Cup third place finish

A stubborn Sweden beat England to third-place at the Women’s World Cup after the Lionesses saw an equaliser in the first half ruled out by VAR.

Sweden dominated early on and made England pay for Alex Greenwood’s defensive error. Kosovare Asllani put them 1-0 up before a fine finish from Sofia Jakobsson doubled their lead.

England pulled one back after Fran Kirby curled one past Hedvig Lindahl and less than two minutes later Ellen White saw her equaliser ruled out after a VAR check for handball.

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Philip Neville’s side struggled to break Sweden down in the second half despite having the majority of possession, they failed to make any clear cut chances to find an equaliser until the final minute of the match.

Lucy Bronze saw her well struck volley cleared off the line by defender Nilla Fischer as Sweden held on to win 2-1, for a fourth top-three finish.

For England, fourth-place is their second-best finish at a Women's World Cup, after they came third in Canada four years ago.

NICE, FRANCE - JULY 06: Caroline Seger of Sweden and her teammates celebrate following their sides victory in the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup France 3rd Place Match match between England and Sweden at Stade de Nice on July 06, 2019 in Nice, France. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)
Sweden celebrate finishing in third-place at the Women's World Cup (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)

England fell behind in the 11th minute as Sweden punished an error by Alex Greenwood. The full-back’s attempted clearance went straight to Kosovare Asllani who fired past Carly Telford.

Five minutes later, Telford pulled off a fine stop as she turned Sofia Jakobsson's strike against the post.

Sweden continued to pile on the pressure and doubled their advantage in the 22nd minute after a well worked move.

Jakobsson collected a pass from Stina Blackstenius, advanced into the box and curled it past Telford into the bottom right hand corner.

Sweden's forward Sofia Jakobsson (C) is congratulated by teammates after scoring a goal during the France 2019 Women's World Cup third place final football match between England and Sweden, on July 6, 2019, at Nice stadium in Nice south-eastern France. (Photo by Valery HACHE / AFP)        (Photo credit should read VALERY HACHE/AFP/Getty Images)
Jakobsson and teammates celebrate going 2-0 up (Photo by VALERY HACHE/AFP/Getty Images)

England started to find some rhythm and pulled a goal back just after the half-hour mark as Kirby received the ball from Jill Scott, cut in from the right and found the back of the net off the far post.

Within moments, it looked as if the Lionesses had equalised, Ellen White bringing down a Beth Mead delivery with her back to goal, turning and squeezing it past Lindahl.

But there was a VAR check for handball and, after watching footage back pitchside, referee Anastasia Pustovoytova disallowed the goal.

England's Ellen White appeals to Match referee Anastasia Pustovoytova after her goal is disallowed during the FIFA Women's World Cup Third Place Play-Off at the Stade de Nice, Nice. (Photo by John Walton/PA Images via Getty Images)
Ellen White appeals to referee Anastasia Pustovoytova after her goal is disallowed (Photo by John Walton/PA Images via Getty Images)

Karen Carney came on to replace Nikita Parris to make her 144th and final England appearance with 16 minutes to go.

The best chance of the second half fell to Bronze who saw her volley cleared off the line by Fischer in the final minute as Sweden held on to win 2-1.

NICE, FRANCE - JULY 06: Fran Kirby of England looks dejected following her sides defeat in the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup France 3rd Place Match match between England and Sweden at Stade de Nice on July 06, 2019 in Nice, France. (Photo by Maddie Meyer - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
Fran Kirby looks dejected after full-time whistle (Photo by Maddie Meyer - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)

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