Everyone should watch out for Sweden
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Lotta Schelin is Sweden’s leading goal scorer of all time
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She believes her old team can “go all the way” at next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup
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Schelin was also full of praise for The Best FIFA Women’s Player, Alexia Putellas
Lotta Schelin was one of the great strikers of her generation. She was also, at least at the club level, a league winner. But despite winning eight consecutive top titles and three UEFA Women’s Champions League crowns with Lyon, Schelin could never repeat the golden touch at international level. During its 13 years, 185 international matches and records with 88 goals with the national team, Sweden remained “almost women” in major tournaments. Although they were regulars in the later stages, the closest Schelin and her teammates were ever gold at the 2016 Women’s Olympic Football Tournament, when they lost to Germany in the final.
Now in the role of supporter, after retiring in 2017, the 37-year-old thought she was finally set on cheering for a podium in Sweden when they started last year’s Olympics by beating the world champions – and continued in the same vein. . “It was amazing,” said Schelin, a record five times Diamond balls (Player of the year in Sweden) winner. “Sometimes you start slowly in tournaments, but they started so well – beating the United States 3-0 – and then just kept going. They performed so well throughout the competition.” In fact, the Swedes were so impressive that their heartbreaking defeat against Canada in the gold match surprised almost everyone – including Schelin -. “For me and for the team themselves, I think they were the favorites in that final, so for them to lose that way, it was tough. Really difficult,” she reflected.
“Still, they’re still watching Swedish football right now and saying ‘it’s really good.’ And they will keep pushing. So yes, everyone has to watch out!” for Swedish teams, but he has also found a way to play that is really interesting. We are constructive in our game and at the same time we use our best skills, such as speed and physicality. So for me, I just see that we are improving further. “
The big question, of course, is whether that improvement will take Sweden to the winners’ medals that they have been chasing for the best part of four decades. With this year’s UEFA Women’s EURO and 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup looming on the horizon, Schelin has high hopes. “All [in Sweden] really goes into this EURO with many expectations. And I know that expectations can sometimes be tough, “she said.” But I think this team can have it on their shoulders; I feel that. “When it comes to the World Cup, I feel after 2019 that anything can happen due to the players ‘and teams’ efforts and competence. You see more teams playing at a high level, and that makes it interesting. The Swedish team is in a good place, so if they can just keep working, avoid losing key players to injury, of course, because that’s the key, I feel they can really fight and maybe go all the way. Why not? “
But if Sweden is a genuine challenger to these upcoming tournaments, so is Spain. After all, for a while La Roja may not have the same lineage when it comes to reaching the later stages of the tournaments, they have emerged with a golden generation that includes the newly crowned best FIFA women’s player in Alexia Putellas. “I’ve been watching Alexia for a while, and she’s really flourished in recent years with Barcelona,” said Schelin, who assisted during the FIFA Football Awards ceremony. “When a team plays like that and has a key player like Alexia, they can win and continue to win everything. She is exceptional. I’m happy for Spanish football that it produces this kind of talent, that she and [Jennifer] Hermoso [another finalist for The Best]. “For me, Alexia is good at everything. She is technical, she can read the game, she scores many goals. She is just a great player.”