Sweden Women v Canada Women predictions for Olympic gold-medal match

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics women's football gold-medal match between Sweden and Canada on Friday morning.

Where to watch

BBC & Eurosport, 3am Friday morning

Best bet

Sweden
2pts 5-6 BoyleSports

Match preview

Sweden may have anticipated a grudge match against USA for the gold medal in Tokyo but, like much of the women's Olympic tournament, things haven't really turned out as expected.

The Swedes shocked the competition immediately when they became the first team in 44 games to beat the Americans with a 3-0 victory and, to their credit, they have not rested on their laurels.

They needed a 1-0 win in the semi-finals against Australia to have a chance of going one better than they did in Rio five years ago, when they fell at the final hurdle against Germany.

But that was the only match where they didn't win with something left in the tank and, having scored 12 goals in their four matches before the semis - that spell included a 4-2 group win over the Matildas, it is easy to see why they are favourites to get the job done.

Opponents Canada have won just one game that did not require either extra-time or the need for a penalty kick to prove crucial.

But they have proved difficult for a number of decent teams to break down as Great Britain and hosts Japan had to be content with draws and they came through a quarter-final against fancied Brazil on penalties.

And that was before they kept a clean sheet against the Americans, where Jessie Fleming's spot-kick proved decisive.

So star Swedish striker Stina Blackstenius will have to be at the top of her game to break through, but they still appear to be the stronger outfit and they can claim the medal without the need for extra time.

The bronze medal clash takes place at 9am on Thursday morning and despite the fact USA will have expected to challenge for gold - there were reports before the tournament in the States that they only had to turn up to win - they are 8-11 to claim third place inside regulation time.

Australia are 15-4 to win bronze inside 90 minutes and the two teams shared a goalless draw in their group-stage clash on July 27.

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