The incredible journey is over. Australia's stunning World Cup run finally had the curtains closed on it in Brisbane at the hands of Sweden.

Going down 2-0 in the third-place play-off, the Matildas looked tired and at times angry in their farewell to the tournament.

Here are the five talking points from the match.

1. Gorry not sorry

The Matildas played with an urgency in the third-place play-off, so eager were they to end their historic Women's World Cup run on a fitting note.

But that urgency begat desperation begat frustration, and that's the path to the dark side, which Katrina Gorry embodied in the 2-0 loss at Brisbane Stadium.

The former Roar player has tip-toed all over the 'line' during the World Cup and her career in general, and she was lucky to only get two yellow cards throughout.

She got a warning from the ref for a cynical tackle on Stina Blackstenius early in the clash with Sweden, copped a yellow card for a bad challenge from behind as the first-half stoppage time began, and things bubbled over with half-time in the offing.

Gorry had earned her team a free-kick, but when Kosovare Asllani continued to stand over Gorry and the ball, the former Roar player rose to her feet and shoved the Sweden captain.

Referee Cheryl Foster and Matildas Steph Catley and Clare Polkinghorne came in to separate them as Gorry's eyes screamed bloody murder, and her mouth sang a similar tune.

2. Ending the World Cup in a world of hurt

Australia looked in pain after final whistle in the third-place play-off, and not just because of the scoreline.

It was indicative of a tournament in which the Matildas have stood up to the challenge not only of the best football teams in the world, but had to bear the weight of expectation from a sports-mad nation.

Sam Kerr, having missed the group stage with an injured left calf, was also hobbling on her right after copping a knock from Magdalena Eriksson. And Caitlin Foord was rocking a shiner and a bandaged head from a first-half head clash with Asllani.

On the bench sat Alanna Kennedy, nursing a concussion from the quarterfinal against France, and Kyah Simon, who was carried in the squad but did not play a minute or even take part in pre-match warm-ups as she is apparently still recovering from a torn ACL.

And speaking of unused substitutes …

3. The great sub snub debate

Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson has copped heat for not using his bench enough during the tournament.

From being slow to introduce attacking players when his team was trailing Nigeria 3-1 after 72 minutes, to barely giving players breaks in 4-0 and 2-0 wins over Canada and Denmark respectively, the bench depth hasn't really been trusted.

The Matildas looked progressively more and more out of gas from the quarters to the end of their tournament, and it's perhaps because so many of them played such heavy minutes, particularly in defence.

Steph Catley and Clare Hunt played every minute of the tournament, and Ellie Carpenter was subbed off for the first time in the 74th minute of the final match. It's safe to assume Kennedy, who played every minute of her five appearances, would have carried a similar load had she stayed fit.

So it was refreshing to see against Sweden, when it was well and truly time to throw caution to the wind, Gustavsson use his bench players a little more.

Vine and Emily van Egmond came on after an hour, and 21-year-old Courtney Nevin got her first minutes of the tournament when she came on for Carpenter alongside livewire Alex Chidiac.

4. Gustavsson wants investment now

As is almost always the case in high-performance sport, Football Australia will do a thorough review of the Matildas' performance at this World Cup, once the euphoria has subsided.

"I think we're going to learn a lot about me as a coach, about the team, about preparation, about investment," he said.

"I love working with this team. It resonates with me as a coach, their identity and their why. And I've said it before, I don't see this as an end of a journey, I see it as the beginning of a journey.

The federal government has announced a $200 million funding boost for women's sport off the back of the Matildas' performance, and one of their vanquishers hopes it yields the rewards.

"For Australia, I think … I hope that this this tournament can raise the standards for the players in Australia and also clubs get better and more professional," player of the match Fridolina Rolfö said.

"I think this tournament has been great for Australia in general."

5. Lionesses out to end 57-year World Cup drought

The game of football was invented in England, the country argues it has the best men's and women's leagues in the world, and is always one of the most closely watched nations heading into a World Cup.

But that has yielded startlingly little success at the tournament.