An own goal from Birmingham City defender Louise Quinn was enough to hand Sweden a 1-0 victory over the Republic of Ireland in Dublin this evening in their latest FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia New Zealand 2023 qualifying match.
Quinn diverted Stina Blackstenius’ shot into her own net six minutes before the half-time interval as Sweden made it three wins out of three in qualifying.
Lina Hurtig and Blackstenius both saw early efforts saved by home keeper Courtney Brosnan before Filippa Angeldahl also fired a shot in on the Republic of Ireland goal but was unable to find the back of the net.
The decisive moment then arrived when Blackstenius took aim and the ball was diverted into the net by the unfortunate Quinn.
A somewhat disjointed second half produced few quality goalscoring opportunities. Sweden registered further efforts on target through Blackstenius and Fridolina Rolfö but neither player came close to beating the Republic of Ireland’s Player of the Match Brosnan.
This evening’s fixture was the Republic of Ireland’s first FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia New Zealand 2023 qualifying match. Vera Pauw’s side continue their bid to qualify for the tournament finals when they travel to Helsinki to face Finland on Tuesday afternoon.
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