Sports
FWWC: Australia Bow 0-2 to Bronze Specialists, Sweden in a 4th Bronze Victory.

Sweden on Saturday at the Suncorp Stadium deflated the celebration balloon of hosts Australia by 2-0 in a very interesting Third Place match leaving Australia with no medal in their world cup history. The hosts had planned a flamboyant victory party.
The victory confirmed Sweden as women’s world cup Bronze specialist winning it for the fourth time as Sweden won Bronze three times before at China 1991; Germany 2011 and France 2019. That is a world record.
Australian Defender, Polkinghome knocked the ball off the feet of Blackstenius bringing her down in the box and VAR approved a penalty after Ref Cheryl Foster hesitated. Barcelona player who scored her penalty kick that ousted USA in the Round of 16 penalty shootout by 5-4 stepped forward to put Sweden in front at 30th minute.
AC Milan player, Kosovare Aslani was spectacular to see when she hit the ball pleasantly from outside the box as Blackstenius connects a pass to her at 62nd minute for the second goal to Sweden.
Amanda Ilestedt is in the class of the second highest goal scorers at this tournament with four goals just like Kadidiatou Diani of France; Alexandra Popp of Germany and Jill Roord of Netherlands. Hinata Miyazawa of Japan with her five goals is on line for the Golden Boot though Amanda still has a chance to equal her feat or even beat it.
Co-hosts Australia who was in Nigeria’s Group B piped Ireland 1-0 on 20th July; lost to Nigeria in a dramatic 2-3 game and suddenly pummeled Canada 4-0. At the knockout stages, on 1st August. Australia dented Denmark 2-0 in the round of 16 matches and defeated France 7-6 after a goalless full time in the longest penalty shootouts at any world cup male or female. The team kept clean sheets in two of their three games. The Aussies lost to England in the Semifinal 1-3.
Australia is in her 5th knockout stage appearances at the world cup since 2007. She won only once 1-0 over Brazil at the R16 of 2015. She was eliminated at the R16 stage of the last competition in France 2019 losing to Norway on penalties. Australia registered their biggest win at the world cup in their last group B game against Canada 4-0.
Sweden bowed to Spain 2-1 in the semifinal in the latest of the knockout stages; diffused the high tech Asian Tigresses, Japan 2-1 in the quarterfinals and dismissed USA 5-4 on penalties after a goalless full time in the round of 16. Earlier on 23rd July defeated South Africa 2-1 on 23rd July; pounded Italy 5-0 on 29th July and also crashed Argentina 2-0 on 2nd August all in the group matches.
Sweden never won the trophy; they were runners-up at USA 2003 and lost to Germany 1-2 at extra time. Sweden won the Bronze now four record times, the highest in female soccer history for Bronze victories. She was at the quarterfinals twice at Sweden 1995 and USA 1999 but was also at the round of 16 at Canada 2015.
Sweden has been unbeaten in their three previous games against Australia at the world cup as the Swedish won two games and drew one. The two teams both managed to score in each of their previous three meetings in the competition.
On 17th June 2015 Australia and Canada played 1-1 at the world cup; on their way to the Olympic honor, Sweden beat Australia 4-2 on 24th July 2021 but lost the second leg in Australia 0-1. Earlier on 15th June 2021, they had played goalless in a friendly.
Some other available results are Sweden 2 Australia 1 played 20th August 2004; Sweden 3 Australia 1 played 10th July 2011; 1st March 2017 Australia 0 Sweden 1 and 12th November 2022 Australia 4 Sweden 0.
Sweden had the 4th time playing the 3rd Place match at the world cup which is a new world record. They won each of their previous appearances at that stage including in two of their last three editions – 4-0 over Germany in 1991; 2-1 over France in 2011 and another 2-1 over England in 2019.
Australia is in an attempt to become the third team from AFC region to win a medal at the world cup after Japan (Champions in 2011 and Runners-up in 2015) and China who were Runners-up in 1999. They also would become the second team to win a medal as hosts at the world cup after USA who was champions to in 1999 and 3rd in 2003.
Australia lost 1-3 to England in the semifinal but have not lost consecutive games in a single edition of the world cup since 1999 when they lost against Sweden and China in the group stage.
Grand Finale is on Sunday 20th August at Stadium Australia when Spain will lock horns with England to let the world know a new champion at 1100 hours after the closing ceremonies would have been concluded.
Something unique is that we are expecting a new champion for the world as previous champions, four times winner USA; two times winner, Germany; Japan and Norway that won one time each have been exited in this tournament.
By Eniola Olatunji
Sports
Leicester City Put Up For Sale
General view of a Leicester City sign from the front of King Power StadiumLeicester City are looking to sell the club for more than £200m, with its Thai owners King Power ready to leave after 16 years.
The Foxes have had an eight-page sales booklet produced by a leading US investment bank to help offload the one-time Premier League title winners.
Citigroup lists the Foxes, its women’s team, and other major assets – including the 32,000-seat King Power Stadium and its Seagrave training facility which was opened in 2020 and is valued at £121m – as well as OH Leuven, Leicester’s Belgian sister club, as up for sale in a brochure titled ‘Project Lineup’.
The document, seen by BBC Sport, values the club’s physical assets at more than £200m, though no specific sum has been attributed to the sale of its struggling teams.
The brochure speaks of “a rare opportunity to acquire a club with an excellent track record of winning promotions to higher divisions”.
Leicester’s successes, including the 5,000-1 Premier League title win of 2016 and the FA Cup triumph five years later, are well promoted in the brochure, while their place in League One, after back-to-back relegations from the top flight and the Championship, fail to get a mention.
The club’s turnover, which Citigroup forecast to be more than £97m for the 2026 financial year are also part of the pitch, but the years of financial losses and the club’s debts – which, as outlined in its 2025 accounts, include £103.6m in bank loans – are omitted.
In the years that the club yo-yoed between the Premier League and Championship, with two relegations from the top flight in three years between 2023 and 2025, the club lost more than £180m.
King Power, run by the Srivaddhanaprabha family, bought Leicester for £35m from Milan Mandaric in 2010.
Khun Aiyawatt ‘Top’ Srivaddhanaprabha is currently chairman after his father Khun Vichai died in a helicopter crash outside the stadium in 2019.
Efforts to put the third-tier club up for sale were first reported in the Financial Times, external in July, but the product brochure now being circulated to prospective buyers is public confirmation that new investors are being sought.
The sale process comes just eight months on from Khun Top saying he is shouldering the blame for the club’s drastic recent demise.
There have been growing calls from disgruntled fans for the club to be sold, with the most vocal showing coming outside King Power Stadium after relegation from the Championship was confirmed last season.
Leicester’s struggles in recent years have come at a time when the King Power duty-free business in Thailand, which has been intrinsically linked to the club since the Srivaddhanaprabha family bought the Foxes, has also endured financial difficulties.
Despite the club’s issues, Leicester City is being positioned for sale as one of only five clubs to have won all three major English trophies – the Premier League, the FA Cup and the League Cup – since 2000.
The document also outlines the potential of the club’s academy, stating the Foxes have a “strong talent pipeline backed by leading scouting infrastructure, active transfer management and highly developed academy system consistently producing top players”.
Leicester sold academy graduate Jeremy Monga to Manchester City for £10m last month.
Leicester, relegated to League One for just the second time in their history last season, will start their latest campaign in the third tier under head coach Russell Martin at Notts County on Saturday.
Sports
Amorim Wants Tomori, Nkunku 6 Other AC Milan Stars Out Of Club
AC Milan coach Ruben Amorim has decided Fikayo Tomori and Christopher Nkunku do not figure in his plans this season.
David Odogu, Pervis Estupinan, Santiago Gimenez and Philip Terracciano are also expected to leave after Amorim held a crunch meeting with club bosses on Thursday.
The Portuguese, who was dismissed by United in January following a dismal 14 months in charge, accepted the task of transforming Milan’s fortunes – with the Italian giants finishing fifth last season.
He is set for a reunion with his old side this weekend in Poland, where he will search for his first win in charge of his new club having failed to register a victory in pre-season.
A 2-2 draw with Scottish champions Celtic was followed by a 1-1 tie with fierce rivals Inter Milan, before Xabi Alonso’s Chelsea put three goals past the Portuguese’s side in a woeful result in Jakarta.
But Amorim is ready to embrace the challenge, and suggested that his task at the San Siro is even greater than his job at Old Trafford.
‘I’m really very happy to be here, it’s an honour to be the coach of Milan,’ he said.
‘Why did I choose Milan? If you read an old interview of mine you will understand it, for me a special club.
‘It’s a very big challenge that I accepted even if after the last one [at Manchester United] I told myself to accept a smaller one.
‘Perhaps it is a greater challenge than the last. I’m proud to be here, we all are, me and my staff.
‘I’m at Milan to win, if you’re Milan coach you have to have this mentality,’ he added.
‘I’m not naive, I know there’s a lot of work to do, but if you’re the Milan coach you have to play to win.’
Sports
Transfer: Man Utd Name 6 Clubs Rashford Can’t Join
Manchester United co-owner, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, has blocked Marcus Rashford from joining any direct Premier League rival.
According to the UK Mirror, the Red Devils are determined to avoid a scenario where Rashford shines at a domestic competitor.
The 28-year-old is back at Carrington for pre-season training following a loan spell at Barcelona, but his long-term future at Old Trafford remains uncertain.
Ratcliffe wants to remove Rashford from United’s wage bill, but he won’t sanction a move to the likes of Arsenal, Manchester City or Liverpool
The restrictions extend to loan inquiries, as Chelsea, Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur have been rebuffed.
There is fear among United senior officials that Rashford could prove instrumental in helping a rival secure a Champions League spot, a scenario that would be viewed as ’embarrassing’ by the club’s top brass.
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