Women’s World Cup as it happened: Sweden books spot in semi-final after 2-1 win over Japan, Spain defeat Netherlands 2-1 after goal in extra time

Well, that’s all from me tonight, and what an epic two games of football we had.

First Spain’s 2-1 victory over the Netherlands in extra time, and then Sweden’s dominant 2-1 victory over Japan.

Despite late resurgences from both Japan and the Netherlands, they’re now out of the World Cup in 2023.

We have two epic quarter-finals to come tomorrow night before we race ahead to the semi-finals next week.

Roy Ward will be on to take you through the ups and downs of those two matches, but until then, enjoy your night.

Matildas fans at the Tumbalong Park live site in Sydney.Credit: Dion Georgopoulos

The prospects of a public holiday if the Matildas win the World Cup have strengthened after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese threw his support behind the idea.

But Albanese warned that it was the gift of state and territory leaders to grant the public a day off.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese celebrated with Steph Catley after the Matildas’ first World Cup match in Sydney.Credit: Reuters

Speaking to ABC radio in north Queensland, Albanese said he would raise the issue at next week’s national cabinet, which is scheduled for the same day of the second semi.

“I certainly hope they win,” Albanese told host Annie Gaffney.

“Now if the Matildas get through and win in Brisbane on Saturday afternoon, well I’m sure the whole of Australia will be stopped between five o’clock and seven o’clock on Saturday to cheer them on.

“Then they go into a semi-final on Wednesday, which happens to be the day of [national cabinet].

“So certainly, I’ll be raising with all the premiers and chief ministers, seeking their views on the potential to have a day off.”

Read the full story here.

World Cup fans now have more options to watch the Matildas take on France, as Rod Laver Arena is set to screen the quarter-final match live.

The quarter-final will be shown on the big screens in the Melbourne Park precinct on Saturday, the first time the site has been open to crowds during the tournament.

Up to 12,000 people are invited to watch the match at Rod Laver Arena on a first-come, first-served basis, following a decision from the Victorian government on Friday.

Acknowledging the popularity of the live site at Federation Square, Sports Minister Steve Dimopoulos said more fans can now be part of the excitement.

“The level of support we’ve seen for the Matildas is off the charts,” Dimopoulos said following the government’s announcement.

The Rod Laver Arena live site will open from 4pm, welcoming crowds through gates three and four.

So now we have our first semi-final match up: Spain v Sweden.

But we’ll have to wait till tomorrow night to find out which teams will be joining them in the final four – fingers crossed the Matildas are one of them.

Australia play France in Brisbane at 5pm AEST, followed by England v Colombia at 8.30pm AEST in Sydney.

The winner of those two matches will play each other in Wednesday’s semi-final in Sydney.

Moeka Minami after Japan’s 2-1 loss to Sweden.Credit: Getty

Jun Endo of Japan at full time.Credit: Getty

Japan were the last standing previous World Cup winners left in the tournament.

Now they’re gone, a new nation will be lifting the trophy for the first time.

Japan won the tournament back in 2011 with a win over the USA in a penalty shootout thriller.

Past winners USA (three-time winners), Germany (two-time winners) and Norway were all booted in previous rounds.

So, who will lift the trophy in 2023?

Heading in to the match, although it was a hard one to pick, Japan were slight favourites after an impressive tournament run that got them to the quarter-final.

But the game: it was all Sweden. Well, until the final 15 or so minutes.

The Swedes dominated the possession, had more control and created far more opportunities to score. If it wasn’t for Japanese goalkeeper Ayaka Yamashita, it could have been a far greater margin than 2-1 on the scoreboard.

Japan beat Norway in the round of 16.Credit: Reuters

Japan cruised through their group stage, beating Spain 4-0, Costa Rica 2-0 and Zambia 5-0. All up, they scored eleven goals and conceded none.

Then, in their first knockout game in the round of 16, they beat former World Cup champions Norway 3-1.

They’ve inspired many and been an entertaining side to watch. Goodbye Japan, thanks for the memories.

Heading into the game, Japan were the most impressive team of the tournament so far.

They defeated Spain 4-0 in the group stages, and they were on track to play them again...all they had to do was defeat Sweden.

Sweden’s Magdalena Eriksson celebrates victory.Credit: Reuters

But Japan didn’t have a single shot on target in the first-half, and by time they found their mojo, Sweden were ahead 2-0.

Now, ABBA’s Dancing Queen is ringing out across Eden Park and the Swedes have booked themselves a date with Spain on Tuesday,

Sweden has defeated Japan 2-1 in Auckland and will play Spain in the semi-final on Tuesday.

It looked to be a comprehensive victory for the Swedes, after Amanda Illestedt scored in the 32nd minute, followed by a goal for Filippa Angeldal, but a comeback from Japan in the final 15 minutes had Swedish fans on the edge of their seats.

Sweden celebrate their quarter-final win over Japan.Credit: Getty

It took Japan 87 minutes to get their first goal, but when Honoka Hayashi put the ball in the back of the net, the Japenese were invigorated and put Sweden on the back foot with a relentless attack in their third of the field.

But Sweden’s early dominance meant the comeback was too great, and the Scandinavians now march to the pointy end of the competition.

Full-time: Sweden 2, Japan 1

We have a mammoth 10 minutes of stoppage time added to this second half and Japan have found their mojo.

Swedish goalkeeper Zecira Musovic has her work cut out for her in these final minutes because Japan are spending a lot of time lurking around her box.

Futoshi Ikeda makes a substitution - Maika Hamano comes on for Hana Takahashi as Japan launch their offensive.

Sweden 2, Japan 1 after 90 minutes + 1 minute