Women’s World Cup 2023: Sweden in-depth team guide and prediction

This team guide is part of a collaboration with the Guardian and other leading newspapers from the nations participating at the Women’s World Cup 2023.

This guide was written by Amanda Zaza for fotbollskanalen.se.

Overview

Sweden went unbeaten in their group during the qualifiers, winning seven games and drawing at home against Ireland. Their biggest win was a 15-0 victory over Georgia. Kosovare Asllani said she felt empathy for the opposing team and when assistant coach Magnus Wikman spoke to the press he was asked whether the qualification system was unfair for certain teams. “We were too bad when we won 4-0 and you’re unhappy when we win 15-0,” he said. “I don’t understand anything. This is the way it has to be until it gets even, they will be good enough one day that they will be a threat to Swedish women’s football.”

Since Peter Gerhardsson took over in 2017 they have played in a 4-3-3 or a 3-4-3 formation, with the head coach alternating between the two styles in qualifying.

One of the key players during the qualifiers was Lina Hurtig who recently has been struggling with injuries but tends to step up when it matters. Hurtig was Sweden’s leading scorer in qualifying with five of Sweden’s 32 goals. Their squad depth is a strength – Jennifer Falk and Hedvig Lindahl have shared goalkeeping duties of late behind a really solid defense with world class players like Magdalena Eriksson, Linda Sembrant, Amanda Ilestedt, Nathalie Björn, Jonna Andersson and now injured Hanna Glas.

The coach

The now 63-year-old Peter Gerhardsson took over after the 2017 Euros and has taken his team into the top three in the two out of the three tournaments since (third place at the 2019 World Cup and silver at the Tokyo Olympics). He was a top-flight player before he went into coaching, representing Hammarby between 1978 and 1987 among other clubs, and was in charge of Häcken’s men’s team before taking over the women’s national team. When he was appointed there was a certain sense of “Peter who?” and some players had to Google his name to find out how he was. But there is no doubt that he is popular within the federation as he has just renewed his contract with the Swedish FA. Loves music and has about 1,500 CDs and 1,700 vinyl LPs.

Star player

Fridolina Rolfö showed her qualities with Wolfsburg but had never had a full season without injury before joining Barcelona, where the head coach Jonathan Giraldez converted her into a left-back. “I remember people thought that I was crazy at first for playing her as a left-back,” he told Fotbollskanalen. “But to me she isn’t a left back, she’s a left winger.” A player who would make it into any national team, Rolfö can be the difference maker for Sweden.

Rising star

Anna Sandberg got her first national team call up in January in a squad featuring only players from the Swedish Damallsvenskan. The left back impressed the head coach enough to get her “real” call up the following month, with her debut coming in a 4-1 win over China. “They [Sandberg and Hanna Lundkvist, who also debuted] were incredibly good.” said Fridolina Rolfö. “They should be proud, because they showed people what it takes to be here. I am super impressed.”

Did you know?

At school Caroline Seger was in the same class as the future Wigan and Genoa defender Andreas Granqvist. They both later captained Sweden’s national teams.

Standing of women’s football in your country?

Sweden’s clubs used to compete for Champions League titles and the country was a destination for the very best players. The reality is completely different now, and the domestic league has fallen off, suffering with very small crowds. All the games are livestreamed but the media coverage is barely anything compared to the men’s league. But when it comes to the women’s national team there is a lot of interest – when Sweden played Brazil before last year’s Euros they managed to draw a record crowd of 33 218.

Realistic goal

The third best team in the world should be fighting for silverware at the World Cup. However, some of Sweden’s key players such as Caroline Seger, Fridolina Rolfö, Amanda Ilestedt, Lina Hurtig and Kosovare Asllani have struggled with injuries during the spring. And the draw looks tough, with the USA or the Netherlands waiting in the last 16.