Swedes are looking for European Championship revenge after the Olympic gold medal
STOCKHOLM: Sweden’s women’s team is on its way to the upcoming European Championships in England with one point to settle after being taken to the 2020 Olympic gold by Canada in a penalty shootout, and this time the aim is firmly set to win.
The Olympic final, which was held last year in Tokyo, was the second time in a row that Sweden finished as silver medalists, but they are determined to take the big prize offered this summer.
“We were so disappointed that we did not win that gold medal. That was all we wanted at the moment, and we still want to take that revenge. We look forward to another chance,” striker Stina Blackstenius told Reuters.
The 26-year-old Arsenal forward was one of a number of Swedes who participated in a tournament camp in Stockholm for players who trade abroad while they wait for their home-based colleagues to join them.
– This is something we really want to bring to Sweden, to inspire the new generation here, says goalkeeper Hedvig Lindahl, who just finished the season in Spain with Atletico Madrid, to Reuters.
“We had a team that won it (EC) in 1984, and since then we have been at the top for so, so many, so many years, and we are worthy of winning it again. So it’s more that I feel it is our turn.”
The Swedes have traditionally been something of a superpower in women’s football, but despite a number of appearances in semi-finals and finals, the only European title in 1984 is still their only major international tournament victory to date.
For captain Magdalena Eriksson, who just won the Women’s Super League for the third year in a row with Chelsea, the tournament could not have come at a better time.
“It’s amazing that this tournament is taking place right now in women’s football because I think it’s going to be the biggest so far,” she told Reuters.
“I know the English football culture, I know how much everyone loves football there. So I think it will be a really, really good celebration of women’s football.”
Lindahl, who has turned 39 and can take part in his last big tournament, knows that it will not be easy to finally get a winning medal.
“It will take a lot, because the competition is very high. A good squad, a good system,” she said.
“Of course, a lot of luck – luck with who to play next (after the group stage) and so on. So it’s not easy to win the European Championships.”
The tournament starts on July 6 and Sweden, coached by Peter Gerhardsson, will compete in Group C with the reigning champions Netherlands, Switzerland and Portugal.