Japan 1-2 Sweden: Ilestedt's goal sees the Blagult into semis to face Spain

Sweden will face Spain in the Women's World Cup semi-finals after fighting off a persistent Japan side 2-1.

Match Report

Amanda Ilestedt scored the opener in the 31st minute, the ball falling kindly to her feet in the midst of a goal-mouth scramble, and she fired in from close range.

Japan looked as if they might have steadied the ship but Fuka Nagano grazed the ball with her arm inside the box four minutes into the second half, and Filippa Angeldahl converted from the penalty spot.

Two goals up and cruising, Peter Gerhardsson's team looked in control, but one last burst from their opponents led to a nervy final 15 minutes.

Riko Ueki kicked things off by carving out a lifeline for her team by going down under pressure in the area. But the Tokyo Verdy Beleza striker's shot rattled the bar.

Honoka Hayashi set up a grandstand finish by sweeping home in the 87th minute, but it was all a little too late.

What's next?

Sweden will play Spain in the semi-finals of the Women's World Cup. The match will be played on Tuesday August 15 at 9am.

What is the schedule?

The round of 16 concluded on Tuesday ahead of the quarter-finals, which will be held in Wellington, Auckland, Brisbane and Sydney, between August 11 and 12.

The first semi-final will then be played on August 15 in Auckland, with the other semi-final taking place on August 16 at the Accor Stadium in Sydney, which will then host the final on August 20.

A third-place play-off will be played the day before the final on August 19 in Brisbane.

Line-ups

Japan XI: S. Kumagai, M. Tanaka, A. Yamashita, Y. Hasegawa, R. Shimizu, H. Sugita, M. Minami, H. Miyazawa, F. Nagano, H. Takahashi, Aoba Fujino

Subs: H. Naomoto, Chika Hirao, S. Miyake, Jun Endo, R. Ueki, K. Seike, Hayashi Honoka, Momoko Tanaka , Remina Chiba, Rion Ishikawa, Maika Hamano, Miyabi Moriya

Sweden XI: K. Asllani, J. Andersson, E. Rubensson, A. Ilestedt, F. Rolfö, M. Ericsson, S. Blackstenius, Z. Musovic, N. Björn, F. Angeldal, J. Rytting-Kaneryd

Subs: L. Sembrant, C. Seger, S. Jakobsson, O. Schough, Lina Hurtig, J. Falk, M. Janogy, T. Enblom, R. Blomqvist, H. Bennison, Anna Linnea Sandberg, Hanna Lundkvist