Sweden are to face host nation Australia in the third place playoff, tomorrow though many will find it strange that the country, pioneers in women's international football have never lifted the trophy.

On Tuesday (August 15) they lost 2-1 to Spain in the semi-finals - their third defeat at this stage in the last four tournaments - to end their hopes for another four years.

The defeat meant that the Olympic victory by Sweden's men at London 1948 75 years ago remains the only global football title achieved by the country.

On that occasion they defeated Yugoslavia 3-1 at Wembley Stadium to claim the gold medal. 

In those days, Olympic football was strictly for amateur players but three stars of the Swedish team went on to forge a professional career in Italy.

The Olympic world had been put on hold by the Second World War, but in neutral Sweden, home of the International Committee President Sigfrid Edstrom, sport had continued in a meaningful way.

The great Swedish distance runner Gunder Hägg broke 10 world records in the course of a three-month period in 1942 and, with Arne Andersson, made significant inroads into the world mile record

Meanwhile, in football, Gunnar Nordahl and Nils Liedholm of Norrköping were about to emerge as world stars.

They helped their team win the Swedish title on four consecutive occasions in the immediate post-war years.

A third attacking star, Gunnar Gren, who played for IFK Göteborg, had received the 1946 Gudbollen as Swedish Footballer of the Year.

The Swedish Football Association had chosen a "foreign coach" to guide their fortunes at London 1948, a move that was still somewhat unusual.

The man they chose was an Englishman called George Raynor, a journeyman player back home who had represented several clubs, including Sheffield United and Bury.

"It’s clear that Raynor was blessed with the greatest crop of Swedish talent ever produced," World Soccer Magazine said many years later.

Sweden’s first opponents were Austria at at White Hart Lane, home of Tottenham Hotspur.

Their campaign caught light within two minutes thanks to a goal by Nordahl.

He scored again after 10 minutes and a third goal came from Kjell Rosén for a 3-0 victory.

Although only around 9,000 witnessed the match, something special was in the air.

The quarter-final against South Korea, at Crystal Palace’s Selhurst Park in South London proved to be an even more devastating performance as Sweden scored 12 without reply

Four of them from Nordahl, a hat-trick from Henry Carlsson, two from Liedholm and Rosen and a goal from Gren. 

The Swedes scored four times in the last 12 minutes.

In a precursor of what would later become a regular thing in English domestic football, both semi-finals were played at Wembley Stadium.

Holger Seeback scored the opening goal for Denmark in the first three minutes of the match but the Swedes struck back.

The equaliser remains one of the most unusual goals in Olympic history.

As Sweden came forward, Nordahl realised he was in an offside position and stepped into the goal.

Carlsson’s header was allowed to stand and Sweden scored three more before the first half was over to take a grip on the tie they were never to relinquish.

The match ended 4-2 in Sweden's favour.

A day later Yugoslavia beat hosts Great Britain to 3-1 to reach the final.

They had been almost as prolific as the Swedes as they scored six against Luxembourg and defeated Turkey 3-1 in the quarter-finals.

In the gold medal match, Sweden led with a goal from Gren but Yugoslavia equalised before half-time through Stjepan Bobek in front of a crowd of 60,000. 

Although Sweden restored their advantage through Nordahl six minutes into the second half, Yugoslavia felt that two disputed decisions went against them.

The match was watched by Bernard Joy a member of Britain’s 1936 Olympic team who had become a sportswriter.

He described how Yugoslavia had two second-half penalties turned down.

"The setbacks rattled the Yugoslavs, their behaviour got out of hand for a spell and they did not recover their rhythm," Joy observed

The referee was an Englishman, Bill Ling who later took charge of the 1954 FIFA World Cup Final.

Sweden’s Liedholm converted the penalty that was given and Sweden had the gold medal

"The power and control of polished teamwork made Sweden worthy winners," the official report of the 1984 tournament concluded.

The trio were quickly snapped up by AC Milan in Italy’s Serie A.

There, the combination Gren, Nordahl and Liedholm soon became known as "Gre-No-Li", a symbol that they had become favourites at the San Siro Stadium.

Sadly, the fact that they had become professionals effectively ended their international careers as officials deemed them ineligible for the Swedish national side, and they did not play in the 1950 FIFA World Cup.

At the same time,Sweden was chosen as host nation for the 1958 FIFA World Cup.

Olympic coach Raynor was once again put in charge of the squad.

The officials also relented on their strict ruling against professionals  and Liedholm returned to captain the side with Gren alongside,

The pair were now coming towards the end of their careers but even so, they helped inspire the team towards great achievements.

In the group stages, Sweden beat Hungary and Mexico and also drew with Wales to make sure of a place in the quarter-finals.

A cheerleader whipped up the enthusiasm of the home crowd from the side of the pitch.

In the quarter-finals the Swedes swept past the Soviet Union and West Germany to reach the final

That the fairytale ended with a 5-2 defeat was because their final opponents Brazil had a team full of stars the brightest of which was a 17-year-old called Pelé.

Liedholm and Gren were by no means the first stars to grace both an Olympic and World Cup final by they still take their place in an exclusive club which also includes one Lionel Messi,