On Tuesday, the Swedish Women’s National Team seeks to secure their spot at the 2023 World Cup.
The players prepare for a much-anticipated, but likewise tough game against Ireland. However, the Swedish side can count on the support of more than 12,000 fans at their home ground in Gothenburg.
Prior to match-day, Caroline Seger, Kosovare Asllani, and Magdalena Eriksson discussed the challenge ahead with the press.
Sweden’s tough opponent
Embed from Getty ImagesWhen the teams met in Dublin last October, Sweden failed to score a goal of their own. This was unusual for the offensively strong side.
“That was a tough game for us,” said Magdalena Eriksson. “Ireland is a really structured team and really good defensively. We didn‘t have a lot of chances.“
Despite the difficulties in the match, the Chelsea captain highlighted that it was an important win for the Swedish team.
Team-captain Caroline Seger admitted, that her side was impressed by Ireland in October.
“I mean, I haven’t seen them in that many games,” she explained. “But it was a tight game for us against them. It was only 1-0 (…), so it’s a very good team and I think they developed a lot.”
Sweden: Experience as the decisive factor
So far, the teams have only met each other a handful of times in their history. Sweden’s head coach Peter Gerhardsson considers this an important aspect.
“Now we know before we have just seen them, but we haven’t met them before,” he explained. “I think that’s very important for us to have that knowledge for the game tomorrow.”
Gerhardsson went on to describe Ireland as “very well organized”. He added: “In every team, you need key players And they have a couple of very good key players that can win the game for them.”
Katie McCabe
One of these important players is certainly Irish captain Katie McCabe. For Magdalena Eriksson, she is no stranger to come up against. Despite their club’s rivalry, the Swedish defender thinks of McCabe as a “massive” player for Ireland.
“I like playing against [her],” said Eriksson. “You can tell she is a very competitive person, who loves to win and she loves to play in this kind of games. (…) She’s been in really good form throughout her time [at] Arsenal.”
Strong Sweden side
Embed from Getty ImagesMany rank Sweden as one of the favourite’s in the race for winning the UEFA Women’s Euros this summer. In regard to this, Kosovare Asllani explains that recent games have helped her side to grow.
“Playing against [lower] ranked teams like Georgia, maybe it’s not the best games for us,” she admitted. “But every minute for us is important to create the relationship in our team because we don’t get a lot of games together.”
However, Caroline Seger views the current squad as one of the strongest ever. “I think we have a lot of players now with a lot of experience,” she pointed out.
The Swedish captain added: “We had the chance to also play [together for] a long time, to get to know each other on and off the field. So, I hope I will sit here after we win the Euros and say that I was right.”
Outlook
But before the Swedish team might make themselves a “Golden generation” this summer, their goal is to beat Ireland. At their home stadium Gamla Ullevi, the players will be cheered on by a large crowd, which they hope to celebrate with after the final whistle.
Magdalena Eriksson does not think that the number of spectators puts her team under extra pressure.
“We kind of pressure ourselves in every game we play,” she emphasized. “So it’s nothing new there. I think we just really enjoy playing in front of our home crowd and hopefully a big crowd.”
The defender concluded: “It’s going to be a tough game as well, but we will do everything we can to get the three points.”
The World Cup qualifier between Sweden and Ireland kicks off at 18:30 CET.
