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Blomqvist met Sofia Jakobsson's cross with a
fantastic header in the 66th minute to put the third-ranked
Swedes firmly on course to advance as Group G winners, with
Rubensson sealing the win with a superbly taken spot kick.
"We had to have some patience," Blomqvist said. "Argentina
defended well and closed off a lot of spaces. We felt at
halftime that if we just continued doing what we were doing we'd
break them down, and more space opened up towards the end."
Sweden will next face holders United States in a blockbuster
clash in Melbourne on Sunday - a rematch of the Olympic
quarter-finals in 2021 when the Europeans won 3-0 en route to
the final.
"The USA are a very strong team, very good at championships.
They show that year after year," added Blonqvist, saying Sweden
were not favorites for the tie.
"We have, in my opinion, good self-confidence and we will go in
wanting to win that game, but we won't underestimate the USA."
Having already secured qualification after winning their first
two games, Sweden only needed a point to top the group and coach
Peter Gerhardsson made nine changes to the side that thrashed
Italy 5-0.
Only defenders Amanda Ilestedt and Magdalena Eriksson retained
their places and Sweden were far from their rampant best, with
Olivia Schough's weak free kick their only shot on target in a
disjointed first half.
Blomqvist finally got the breakthrough after the hour mark and
was brought down inside the penalty area by Gabriela Chavez in
the closing minutes to allow Rubensson to drive the resulting
penalty into the roof of the net.
Argentina, who lost midfielder Florencia Bonsegundo to injury
minutes before the break, needed a victory to stand any chance
of going through but never really troubled the Swedish defense
or goalkeeper Jennifer Falk at Waikato Stadium.
They remain without a win in their four World Cup appearances
and finished bottom of the group, with South Africa advancing as
runners-up after beating Italy 3-2 in the other group game in
Wellington.
(Reporting by Hritika Sharma in Hyderabad, Additional reporting
by Philip O'Connor in StockholmEditing by Christian Radnedge)
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