Maturing Matildas look to Olympics with confidence

Australia and Sweden missed out on the Women's World Cup final but they hope their deep runs at the tournament will give them a platform to build on ahead of next year's Paris Olympics.

Sweden finished third for the second successive tournament, and the fourth time overall, with a 2-0 win over the co-host on Saturday, while the Matildas achieved their best ever result at the showpiece event.

Australia was also beaten by Sweden in the semis of the 2020 Tokyo Games, before losing to the United States in the bronze-medal match, and coach Tony Gustavsson said the Matildas were punching above their weight.

"We have a massive amount of work to do now to capitalize on this," Gustavsson told reporters. "It's a massive achievement for these players considering the resources (we have) compared to the financial resources of the top 10 ranked teams.

"These players have, in some ways, overachieved ... The next step now is investment. Long-term investment, not just a quick fix, because a lot of these players are going to play at the Olympics as well."

Australia will host Iran, Chinese Taipei and the Philippines in Perth in October and November in the second round of the Asian Football Confederation qualifiers for Paris.

"We have a good mix of experience and young players," Gustavsson added. "It can be an advantage to have some continuity in a roster going from one tournament to another. It's a short turnaround with ... qualifiers coming up.

"I'm excited about the Olympics. But we can't jump ahead and think we're going to be there ... So we need to focus on one step at a time."

Peter Gerhardsson's Sweden, who finished runner-up at the last two Olympics, have been drawn in a group containing Spain, Italy and Switzerland for the inaugural Women's Nations League, which determines qualification for Paris.

The Swedes host Spain, who last week beat them 2-1 in their World Cup semifinal, in Gothenburg on Sept 22.

"Winning this match (against Australia), we will go back home feeling elated," Gerhardsson said. "It's a really tough qualification for the Olympics ... but we will have excellent confidence now.

"I'll have a week where I'll just be watching these matches, maybe read a little bit about everything that's been written at home, and then switch gears and start looking at the Nations League tournament."

'Best four weeks'

Meanwhile, Matildas captain Sam Kerr praised Australian fans for their support during the World Cup.

The Matildas were on Sunday morning presented in front of fans in Brisbane after their third-place playoff defeat to Sweden.

Addressing the crowd, Kerr said it was a "dream come true" for the squad to play World Cup matches in front of sold-out crowds at stadiums and record TV audiences in Australia.

"Me and the girls definitely felt the love," she said.

"We see everything, we appreciate everything. It's been an emotional roller-coaster but it has been the best four weeks of our lives."

The Matildas' run has significantly boosted the profile of women's sports in Australia, making the Australian players household names, and prompted governments to boost their funding for female athletes.

They were on Sunday presented with the key to the city of Brisbane — where they were based for much of the tournament — and a statue is set to be built outside Brisbane Stadium honoring the run.

Anika Wells, the country's Minister for Sport, said on Sunday that it was a "transformative" moment for Australian soccer.

"It's been about those transformative little experiences that we've all been hearing about for a month," she said.

"It's about the fact that a girl came up to me on the street and said she played against Cortnee Vine back in the day and she has been inspired to sign back up after this."

Agencies