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England missed out on a third-placed finish at the Women\u2019s World Cup as they were beaten 2-1 by Sweden in their play-off in Nice.<\/p>\nEngland missed out on a third-placed finish at the Women\u2019s World Cup as they were beaten 2-1 by Sweden in their play-off in Nice.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Phil Neville\u2019s Lionesses replied through Fran Kirby\u2019s left-footed effort just after the half-hour mark and two minutes later the ball was in the Swedes\u2019 net again courtesy of an Ellen White finish.<\/p>\n
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 equalizer disallowed following a VAR review.<\/p>\n
This time the forward \u2013 the tournament\u2019s joint top-scorer with six goals \u2013 was judged to have been guilty of a handball.<\/p>\n
White\u2019s frustration at the decision was clear, and it ended up a disappointing outing overall for the team after they had the better of the second half but were unable to save themselves from defeat, with Lucy Bronze seeing a late strike cleared off the line by Nilla Fischer.<\/p>\n
Victory would have made the campaign in France England\u2019s joint-best performance at a Women\u2019s World Cup, four years on from them securing bronze for the first time in Canada.<\/p>\n
Instead they must settle for fourth, while Sweden, the 2003 runners-up, take home bronze for a third time.<\/p>\n