Among the four San Diego Wave FC participants in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, Sofia Jakobsson came out on top.
Jakobsson, part of Sweden’s team, was on the winning side in her country’s 2-0 defeat of Australia early Saturday in the tournament’s third-place game.
Australia – the Wave’s Emily van Egmond is part of the national team – fell, despite playing in front of a home crowd in Brisbane.
Van Egmond, who came in as a second-half substitute, won a free kick and had a late shot, but missed to the left. Jakobsson did not play.
Sweden has never lost a third-place match in the Women’s World Cup. This was their second-straight win in such matches, and fourth overall.
“We showed from minute one, we were the better team,” Fridolina Rolfo, who scored one of Sweden’s goals, told the Associated Press. “We deserve this medal.”
Yet Australia also had a historic run, making it to the semi-finals for the first time.
Australian star Sam Kerr told AP, “the way the fans have got behind us, the way girls have carried themselves, I think we’ve proven to the world we are a footballing nation.”
There was room for every team to move up as the favorite going in to the World Cup, the U.S., faltered. Wave stars Alex Morgan and Naomi Girma were part of the U.S. squad, which Sweden eliminated.
Ultimately, England and Spain made it to the finals, with the champion to be crowned Sunday.
The World Cup has been split between Australia and New Zealand, with the final two matches in Australia.
