Sweden, despite sporting a much-changed line-up for their final group encounter at the FIFA Women's World Cup Finals, proved too good for Argentina in front of 17,907 fans in the final game of the tournament at Waikato Stadium on August 2, prevailing 2-0 in a foul-filled encounter which won't live long in the memory. A free-kick was awarded every three minutes on average in this match, with the Swedes responsible for three of every four fouls Rwandan referee Salima Mukansanga had reason to punish. Would the foul count have been reduced by greater use of the yellow card, given only two were issued in the match? It's certainly a consideration, because the stop-start nature of the game made for a rather challenging watch for patrons. Opportunities to score weren't exactly commonplace either, the first coming after a quarter of an hour's play, with Argentina's Estefania Banini setting off on a solo slalom which culminated in her shooting wildly over the bar with team-mates in support (and not best pleased that their team-mate had gone for glory, truth be told!) Four minutes later, veteran goalkeeper Vanina Correa - she turns forty in twelve days time - was well placed to deal with Olivia Schough's free-kick, and looked on with relief ten minutes later as Schough headed wide on receipt of a Sofia Jakobsson cross, after Madelyn Janogy had started the move with a cheeky back-heeled pass. Argentina offered their lone threat of a tempestuous first half half-way through it, Mariana Larroquette heading wide on receipt of a Romina Nunez cross. After the interval, knowing that their hopes of qualifying for the knockout phase hinged on victory and other results going their way, Banini looked to give "La Albiceleste" a lifeline in the 56th minute, but shot straight at Jennifer Falk.

"Blagult" responded by opening the scoring in the 66th minute, a goal this game badly needed. Hanna Bennison played the ball wide to Jakobsson, who delivered inch-perfect quality onto the head of Rebecka Blomqvist. If she'd missed this header from six yards, she needed shooting herself!! That goal pretty much killed off any hopes Argentina harboured of getting out of the group, and Falk's save at the feet of the charging Erica Lonigro ten minutes from time virtually confirmed the fact. Sweden stepped up the pressure in the final ten minutes, Bennison battering a twenty-yarder past the post before Johanna Kaneryd was denied by Adriana Sachs' timely tackle. But when Gabriela Chavez wrestled Blomqvist to the ground in the area as a free-kick was fired into the danger zone, referee Mukansanga made her easiest decision of the day, and Elin Rubensson lashed her penalty past Correa - 2-0. Yamila Rodriguez and Lonigro both went close to bagging a consolation goal for Argentina before the final whistle - the latter hit the post, but Sweden's 2-0 win confirmed them as group winners as they advanced to the last sixteen on a day their South American opponents were left to ponder a fourth World Cup Finals without winning a single game. Argentina:     Correa; Cruz (Chavez, 71), Braun, Cometti, Stabile; Gomez Ares (booked, 45 (Ippolito, 71)), Sachs, Bonsegundo (Falfan, 41 (Rodriguez, 79)), Banini; Nunez, Larroquette (Lonigro, 79) Sweden:     Falk; Lennartsson, Ilestedt (Sembrant, 62), Sandberg, Eriksson; Bennison, Seger (Rubensson, 46), Janogy (Blackstenius, 90); Jakobsson (Kaneryd, 76), Blomqvist, Schough (booked, 22 (Hurtig, 62)) Referee:     Salima Mukansanga (Rwanda)