Sweden reach women's football W. Cup semis

AUGSBURG, Germany (AFP) - Sweden took advantage of some sloppy Australia defending to claim a decisive 3-1 victory and book a semi-final clash with Japan in
 the Women's World Cup here on Sunday.
Therese Sjogran (11) and Lisa Dahlkvist (16) had given the Swedes an early lead in their quarter-final tie before World Cup debutante Ellyse Perry got one back five minutes before the break.
Player of the match Lotta Schelin finished off the contest after 52 minutes in front of a crowd of nearly 25,000 who were vocally supporting Australia as Germany's ticket to the 2012 Olympic Games depended on a Swedish defeat.
"The only thing I felt was they (the crowd) were shouting a bit more for Australia," said the Lyon striker. "Of course they wanted Germany to go to the Olympics. But otherwise it was fantastic."
Sweden, the 2003 runners-up, next play Japan, who sensationally knocked out two-time holders Germany, in the semi-finals in Frankfurt on Wednesday.
The Scandinavians also book one of the two European qualifying spots for the 2012 Olympics along with France who advanced to the semi-finals by beating England, who qualify as hosts, on penalties on Saturday.
Coach Tom Sermanni blamed sloppy defending for Australia's defeat.
"The goals that we conceded here have been very simple, basic mistakes. At 2-1 you have a chance to come back into the game, at 3-1 you're struggling," he said.
"We managed to keep playing, the situation wasn't irretrievable. At half time we were confident we could go on and win the game until we coughed up that third goal. But I'm proud we didn't give up."
Under the blazing Bavarian sun, Sjogran got the more experienced Swedes off the mark after 11 minutes when she picked up a Schelin cross to fire past diving goalie Melissa Barbieri.
Five minutes later Dahlkvist headed in her third goal in four World Cup matches.
Australia pushed forward with Collette McCallum missing a free-kick opportunity late in the first half but Perry got the Matildas back into the tie five minutes before the break.
The 20-year-old, who has represented Australia in both the cricket and football World Cups, picked up a corner to rifle in a curling effort outside the box to leave Hedvig Lindahl with no chance.
Back after the break the Matildas continued to search for the equaliser but Lisa De Vanna was ruled offside as she raced towards goal.
However, Schelin gave them a mountain to climb after as she picked up a lose ball that defender Kim Carroll casually tried to pass back to Barbieri, with the Swedish striker rounding the Aussie goalkeeper and coolly slotting into the empty goal.
A Kyah Simon header after 63 minutes went just wide, with Schelin also missing a shot at goal at 72 minutes while Barbieri almost took the ball over her own line as she collected a cross.
The Matildas refused to give up and a Tameka Butt shot on goal nine minutes from time went just wide as the Swedes held on for their eighth win in nine meetings with Australia.
Swedish coach Thomas Dennerby said that his team had seemed tired after their stunning 2-1 victory over world number one side, the United States, which saw them finish top of Group C: they also has 1-0 wins over both North Korea and Colombia.
"Overall I'm satisfied. I think we didn't play as good defense as in the other games.
"Maybe we were a bit tired since the game against the USA. Our attacking play was really good today and there were some nice goals."
And Sermanni paid tribute to the Swedes.
"I think Sweden are a formidable side and they have a good chance of going all the way in this tournament. They're strong, well organised with some game breaking players."
Fifth-ranked Sweden have competed in all editions of the World Cup since the inaugural edition in 1991 when they finished third and were finalists in 2003.
The pair's only previous clash in the World Cup was in 1999 when the Scandinavians also won 3-1.