The final day of the IFAF Women’s World Championship kicks off with a clash between Team Sweden and Team Australia, two teams still looking for a win.
The winner will finish seventh in the eight-team tournament.
Sweden lost their opening game to Finland by 49-0. They performed better in their second matchup against Germany and actually controlled much of the game but ultimately fell 6-0.
Team Australia opened the WWC on the wrong side of a 33-6 score to Team Canada. Their next game was against a highly motivated Team Mexico, and once again the Australians came up short, this time losing 34-6.
Both teams have shown some good individual efforts, but their relative team inexperience has not allowed them to get over the top to victory. Sweden has a very young team, and Australia has had issues with the ongoing COVID situation that has hampered their efforts to work together as a team.
Offensively, Team Sweden was not able to generate much of a ground attack versus Finland, but Swedish rushers gained 195 yards on 50 carries against Germany. Game 2 MVP, running back Elin Luuk, carried most of the load against Germany, rushing for 159 yards on 30 carries. Starting quarterback Bim Jensen-Östlund was injured against Finland, and her backup, Linda Widberg has been unable to find her groove, completing only 3 of 24 passes for three yards, and she has thrown five interceptions.
On the defensive side, defensive back Hedvig Palocci has had 12 tackles over the two games. Game one MVP linebacker Elin Thimfors has spread 10.5 tackles over the two games and had a quarterback sack and 5 tackles for losses.
Team Australia has generated 252 yards of offense during their games, with game 1 MVP Jordan Di Mizio accounting for 94 of those yards as a rusher and receiver. Running back Casey Byrne contributed 63 yards on 21 carries. Quarterback Isabella Paholek has completed 10 of 32 passes for 94 yards and one touchdown. She has also given away two interceptions.
Linebacker Laura St Ruth has stopped opposing runners 13.5 times to lead the Australian defense. Defensive back Shannon Whale took away two interceptions, and linebacker Kelly Whitehead picked another.
Team Sweden is the likely favorite to go home with a win. Their rushing offense matches up against the Team Australia defense that has given up an average of 172 rushing yards per game. Historically, the Swedes have also had considerably more experience playing as a national team, which should give them an advantage.