Captain Sam Kerr will start a second consecutive game as part of an unchanged Matildas line-up for the Women's World Cup third-place play-off against Sweden.
Finland has officially joined the NATO alliance in a historic realignment of Europe's post-Cold War landscape triggered by Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
Australian-Swedish trade ties and possible defence collaboration are on the agenda as the nation's capital welcomes Scandinavian royalty for the start of a whirlwind visit.Â
The 30 NATO allies have signed off on the accession protocols for Sweden and Finland, sending the membership bids of the two nations to the alliance capitals for legislative approvals.
Swedish membership of NATO would boost national security and help to stabilise the Nordic and Baltic regions, Foreign Minister Ann Linde says, a day after neighbour Finland said it would seek to join the US-led alliance without delay.
Finland says it will apply to join NATO "without delay", with Sweden expected to follow suit, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine brings about the very expansion of the Western military alliance that Vladimir Putin aimed to prevent.
Sweden's ruling Social Democrats will decide on May 15 whether to overturn decades of opposition to NATO membership, the party says, a move that would almost certainly lead to Sweden asking to join the 30-nation alliance.
Three people in the Swedish city of Norrkoping needed medical attention after being hit by police bullets during clashes between police and protesters following Koran burnings that caused riots in several Swedish towns over the Easter weekend.
Sweden should have shut venues and taken other tougher measures early in the COVID-19 pandemic although its no-lockdown strategy was broadly beneficial, a commission says.
People will no longer be required to isolate in England if they test positive for COVID-19 within weeks as Swedish authorities move away from mass testing.
