Sweden’s team guide women’s EC 2022: stars, players, coaches, tactics, expectations …
Overview
“It has never been this tough,” said Sweden’s coach, Peter Gerhardsson, before announcing his squad for this summer’s European Championships. “Then me and Magnus [assistant coach Wikman] took over in 2017, the competition for places has not been at this level and I’m not just talking about the starting eleven, this is for the whole squad. It’s going to be tough for some of the girls who will not make it.”
The strength in depth is one of the reasons why Sweden enters the tournament with high hopes. Qualifies for Euro was never a problem for Peter Gerhardsson’s team. After finishing in Group F with Iceland, Slovakia, Hungary and Latvia, they got some big wins along the way – even though they lost two points against Iceland, after a 1-1 draw in Reykjavik. “You never know until the end of the qualifier how important a point will be,” Gerhardsson said afterwards. “Maybe this one will be the deciding one.”
As it were Sweden won the home match against Iceland 2-0 to book their place in England and the group opponents the Netherlands, Portugal and Switzerland must pay attention to the strength of the team on set goals. Five defenders contributed with 10 of Sweden’s 40 goals in the qualifiers, many of them came from dead ball situations. By comparison, the Swedes’ best goal scorer was the forward Anna Anvegårdwho got five.
Gerhardsson is not afraid to change his formation but it is likely that it will be either 4-3-3 or 3-4-3 – even if he went for 5-3-2 in a World Cup qualifier recently against Ireland. The backbone of the squad has been together for a long time now – players such as Hedvig Lindahl, Magdalena Eriksson, Caroline Seger and Kosovar Asllani – and after the heartache in the Olympic final last year, when they lost on penalties, they will want to go all the way this time.
Coach
Peter Gerhardsson. The 62-year-old took over after the European Championships in 2017 and has won a medal in the two tournaments he has been responsible for so far (bronze at the World Cup 2019 and silver at the Olympics in Tokyo). He was a top player before he started coaching, represented Hammarby between 1978-1987 among other clubs, and was responsible for Häcken’s men’s team before he took over the women’s national team. When he was appointed national team coach for women, there was a certain “Peter who?” about the reaction and some players had to google his name to find out how he was doing. Five years later he can become Sweden’s most successful coach ever if he wins the European Championships. Loves music and has about 1500 CDs and 1700 vinyls.
Star player
There are many players who could fit into this description but if we have to choose one it goes to Stina Blackstenius. She has grown as a person and player in recent years – and it has been clear to look at the pitch. Jhired Arsenal from Häcken in January 2022 and struck seamlessly and developed a fantastic partnership with Vivianne Miedema who Gunners took the WSL title fight to the last day. In Hedvig Lindahl’s podcast “All the way to the goal” Blackstenius told about how her personality has developed and said “I do not think I am shy today and it is a very nice feeling. In the end, I did not feel comfortable being the cautious person that I was and I envied the people who were easy to be more outgoing. I’m still introverted in many ways, but I like the feeling of being more forward. “
Wildcard
Johanna Rytting Kaneryd just missed the Olympic team last year despite having a fantastic season for her club side Häcken. But she seems to have used that disappointment to get her game up a few more notches because she has been Sweden’s regular since the tournament and is now an important part of Gerhardsson’s attack. The 25-year-old’s journey to the top has not been uncomplicated though she says “She has grown mentally and as a player” because of the setbacks and added “I want to win in everything I participate in.” With qualities similar to England’s Lauren Hemp, that is, a fast and determined player who likes to take on her opponents one-on-one, she looks to have a good summer.
Probable team line-up
There is three different options as we may see from the Swedish team this summer. A 4-3-3 formation, 3-4-3 or 5-3-2 (which they used when qualifying for the World Cup against Ireland).
I think Gerhardsson is most likely to play with a 4-3-3: Lindahl – Eriksson, Sembrant, Ilestedt, Glas – Seger, Angeldal, Asllani – Rolfö, Blackstenius, Rytting Kaneryd.
3-4-3: Lindahl – Eriksson, Ilestedt Sembrant – Andersson, Seger, Angeldal, Glas – Asllani, Rolfö, Blackstenius.
Hero of all time
There are many players who have had a great impact on the women’s game in Sweden, such as Lotta Schelin, Victoria Sandell Svensson, Pia Sundhage and Hanna Ljungberg to name a few. But the one who stands out above them all is Caroline Seger, who is still part of the Sweden team. In 2021, she became Sweden’s most player regardless of gender and has passed 220 matches for her country. She overcame the devastation of missing a decisive penalty against Canada in the Olympic final to continue her astonishing career. Her Sweden debut came in March 2005. Off the field, she has been a big influence as well, fought and won the battle for equal pay for the men’s and women’s national teams (bonuses from major finals are not included, however).
The history of the euro
Sweden has a proud European Championship history, won the first in 1984 and has always reached at least the quarterfinals. TThe gold in the opening tournament is Sweden’s only ever – in men’s or women’s football. In addition, Sweden has also lost three finals (1987, 1995 and 2001). At the last European Championships, Sweden felt that they had a great chance of winning the tournament but were knocked out in the quarter-final stage against the final winners, the Netherlands.
Realistic goal for this summer
Considering that Sweden made it to the Olympic final with pretty much this team hopes are high that they can at least reach the final with gold as a realistic goal.