Everton’s Björn wants to be the player to trust when Sweden starts the knockout
Many expect Sweden to go all the way in UEFA Women’s EURO 2022, but they have still become a little overwhelmed with some of their achievements so far.
A disappointing draw against a Dutch team under par and a narrow victory over Switzerland made many scratch their heads. Sweden then put down a performance that made many people sit up and notice, their 5-0 victory over an impressive Portugal team gave fans reason to wonder “has Sweden finally arrived?”
As such, the audience watched their quarter-final with Belgium with eager eyes, and perhaps even more eagerly when the Nordic side got some serious bangs. The Swedes will be without Hannah Glas and Emma Kullberg for their knockout match with The Red Flames after both tested positive for covid-19 with potentially more positive cases to be announced.
With captain Caroline Seger also expected to miss due to injury, the responsibility now passes to Everton’s Nathalie Björn to close the gap that Seger has left behind.
“I have grown into it more and more and I will be a better midfielder but it is difficult,” said Björn. “I feel more comfortable in the role I have played before (in midfield).
“I want to be a player you can trust when the tough games come up.”
With so many absent at such a crucial time in the tournament, when her side just seemed to find its way, it could have been a big concern for any player but not for Björn.
She said “Of course, it’s a big blow but we have players who can step in. I’m not so worried because we have a good squad.”
With potentially only 90 minutes between the two-ranked team and a semi-final match with England, Björn could be forgiven for looking at tomorrow’s opponents and turning some focus before a meeting with the host nation. Nevertheless, Sweden number 14 maintains that her laser-like focus is on the task.
“The England match was very entertaining because someone was watching football,” said Björn. “If we win, we know we will play against England, but first and foremost we have to play against Belgium.
Regardless of their sluggish start to the tournament, it is highly expected that Sweden will beat their Belgian counterparts and advance to the last four, but Björn is not naive about those expectations.
She said “We have many full-time professionals and we get a lot of pressure because of that, but we have to respect Belgium because they are here. It will not be an easy match because we have to go out and perform as well as we can to win. . ”
This is only the second time that Belgium has appeared at a UEFA Women’s EURO and the first time they have left the group, therefore anything beyond this point is a bonus. As for Sweden, but with the weight of expectations on their shoulders, they know that a defeat would be the tournament’s shock so far. With sides like Norway and Italy disappointing in the group stage, this competition is not shy of any giant murders. The Swedes will no doubt need players like Björn to take the step up when they are asked to ensure that this does not happen.