Phil Neville has defended his decision to call the Women’s World Cup third-place play-off ”a nonsense game”, despite criticism of his comments after England’s defeat to Sweden.

England’s tournament ended in disappointment on Saturday as they lost 2-1 in Nice to their fellow beaten semi-finalists, four days after a defeat to the United States.

Two early goals by Kosovare Asllani and Sofia Jakobsson proved enough for Sweden to earn the bronze medal, despite Fran Kirby’s first-half response.

“Well done to Sweden but it is a nonsense game,” Neville told BBC Sport after the final whistle. “We are probably showing in those first 20 minutes the disappointment we felt from the USA game. We came here to win it, not finish fourth.”

Those comments proved unpopular with former England international Siobhan Chamberlain, who was part of the squad which finished third at the 2015 Women’s World Cup in Canada, under Neville’s predecessor Mark Sampson.

England vs Sweden player ratings Show all 12 1 /12 England vs Sweden player ratings England vs Sweden player ratings England vs Sweden player ratings How did the players rate in the Women's World Cup third place play-off? REUTERS England vs Sweden player ratings Carly Telford - 5 (out of 10) NICE, FRANCE - JULY 06: Carly Telford of England fails to save from Sofia Jakobsson of Sweden (not pictured) who scores Sweden's second goal during the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup France 3rd Place Match match between England and Sweden at Stade de Nice on July 06, 2019 in Nice, France. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images) Robert Cianflone Getty Images England vs Sweden player ratings Lucy Bronze - 6 NICE, FRANCE - JULY 06: Lucy Bronze of England runs with the ball during the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup France 3rd Place Match match between England and Sweden at Stade de Nice on July 06, 2019 in Nice, France. (Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images) Alex Grimm Getty Images England vs Sweden player ratings Steph Houghton - 6 NICE, FRANCE - JULY 06: Steph Houghton of England runs with the ball during the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup France 3rd Place Match match between England and Sweden at Stade de Nice on July 06, 2019 in Nice, France. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images) Robert Cianflone Getty Images England vs Sweden player ratings Abbie McManus - 5 NICE, FRANCE - JULY 06: Abbie McManus of England passes the ball during the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup France 3rd Place Match match between England and Sweden at Stade de Nice on July 06, 2019 in Nice, France. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images) Robert Cianflone Getty Images England vs Sweden player ratings Alex Greenwood - 5 NICE, FRANCE - JULY 06: Alex Greenwood of England runs with the ball during the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup France 3rd Place Match match between England and Sweden at Stade de Nice on July 06, 2019 in Nice, France. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images) Robert Cianflone Getty Images England vs Sweden player ratings Jade Moore - 6 NICE, FRANCE - JULY 06: Jade Moore of England is challenged by Julia Zigiotti of Sweden during the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup France 3rd Place Match match between England and Sweden at Stade de Nice on July 06, 2019 in Nice, France. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images) Robert Cianflone Getty Images England vs Sweden player ratings Nikita Parris - 6 England's Nikita Parris, left, and Sweden's Caroline Seger challenge for the ball during the Women's World Cup third place soccer match between England and Sweden at Stade de Nice, in Nice, France, Saturday, July 6, 2019. (AP Photo/Claude Paris) Claude Paris AP England vs Sweden player ratings Jill Scott - 6 NICE, FRANCE - JULY 06: Caroline Seger of Sweden is challenged by Jill Scott of England during the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup France 3rd Place Match match between England and Sweden at Stade de Nice on July 06, 2019 in Nice, France. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images) Robert Cianflone Getty Images England vs Sweden player ratings Fran Kirby - 7 NICE, FRANCE - JULY 06: Fran Kirby of England celebrates after scoring her team's first goal during the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup France 3rd Place Match match between England and Sweden at Stade de Nice on July 06, 2019 in Nice, France. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images) Robert Cianflone Getty Images England vs Sweden player ratings Beth Mead - 5 NICE, FRANCE - JULY 06: Beth Mead of England battles for possession with Sofia Jakobsson of Sweden during the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup France 3rd Place Match match between England and Sweden at Stade de Nice on July 06, 2019 in Nice, France. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images) Robert Cianflone Getty England vs Sweden player ratings Ellen White - 7 Soccer Football - Women's World Cup - Third Place Play Off - England v Sweden - Allianz Riviera, Nice, France - July 6, 2019 England's Ellen White celebrates scoring a goal which is later disallowed for handball following a VAR review REUTERS/Eric Gaillard ERIC GAILLARD REUTERS

“Try telling the 23 players thought went to Canada that a bronze medal match is a ‘nonsense game’,” Chamberlain tweeted. “Winning a medal at a @FIFAWWC is a great achievement and I guarantee you that every player out there today wanted a medal just as much!”

Sampson himself liked Chamberlain’s tweet.

When asked in his post-match press conference whether he wanted to clarify his comments, Neville said: “I do. People can dramatise things. It’s important we get the facts.

“We came to this tournament to win gold. Throughout my life winning is all that matters, not finishing fourth, third, second. My players feel exactly the same as me.

“We came to this tournament to finish first. A third or fourth place game, we’ve not disrespected it. We wanted to win more than anything. But we wanted to win gold. That’s why I said it’s a nonsense.

“2015, we won bronze with magnificent performances, a manager that was great and players that were great. We celebrated and we applauded. It’s now 2019. We wanted gold.

“The hurt in dressing room is because we wanted gold, not bronze. Me, more than anyone, and my players more than any people have been hurting.

“We had it on our screensavers on all our phones. It was a vision that we had, wanting to win gold.

“Accepting second best for this set of players and me is not something we’re going to do. I’m not disrespecting anyone, I’m talking about how we felt as a group.