Sweden vs Australia referee: Wales official Cheryl Foster assigned Women's World Cup third place playoff

Patrick Brischetto

Sweden vs Australia referee: Wales official Cheryl Foster assigned Women's World Cup third place playoff image

All referees dream of being given the opportunity to officiate at a World Cup – and the games in the knockout rounds are momentous occasions.

The third place playoff is one such match, and the 2023 Women's World Cup will see Sweden look to finish fourth at the World Cup for a third time, while co-hosts Australia are looking for a memorable ending to their best ever World Cup campaign.

These matches can lack the tension of the semifinals and final but still tend to be hotly contested and require strong officiating.

The Sporting News looks at which official has been entrusted with the job in Brisbane.

MORE: Sweden vs Australia live blog

Who is referee for Sweden vs Australia?

Cheryl Foster, a 42-year-old from Wales, has been selected as the referee for the third place playoff match between Sweden and Australia.

The match is her fourth at the tournament, having already overseen two group stage matches and Spain's 5-1 drubbing of Switzerland in the Round of 16.

She took charge of a match involving Sweden when she was the woman in the middle for their 5-0 win over Italy in the group stages.

Her other game at the tournament was Brazil's opening win over Panama in Adelaide, which ended 4-0 to the South American giants.

Where to watch Sweden vs Australia

The third placed playoff will be available around the world, with Channel Seven making the game available for free in Australia, where viewership records have been smashed during the World Cup.

  TV channel Streaming
USA FOX, Telemundo, UNIVERSO Fubo, Fox Sports site/app,
Peacock,
Telemundo Deportes En Vivo (Spanish), UNIVERSO NOW (Spanish)
UK ITV 1 UK, RTE 2, STV Scotland ITVX, RTE Player, BBC Sport Web
Australia Optus Sport, Channel Seven Optus Sport, 7Plus
Canada TSN1, TSN 4, TSN 5, RDS TSN+, RDS app
India FanCode
New Zealand Sky Sport 1 NZ, Prime TV Sky Sport NOW, Prime TV
Singapore FIFA WWC CH01 meWATCH
Hong Kong Now Sports Prime Now Player
Malaysia  — FIFA+

Fans in select regions of the world can stream the Women's World Cup live on FIFA+, including in Japan, Brazil, Indonesia and Thailand. 

Patrick Brischetto

Patrick Brischetto Photo

Patrick is a journalist currently based in Sydney who covered the 2022 FIFA World Cup and 2023 Women's World Cup for The Sporting News. He also holds a position at the Western Sydney Wanderers FC, and is slowly attempting to convince the world that the A-League is the greatest sporting competition.