shout. Criticism of the Swedish game was huge after meeting 20th-ranked Switzerland.
Too big, says the league’s assistant captain, Magnus Wakeman, who believes the opponent has been underestimated.
– I think the Swedish gentlemen are 20 um? He says if you think they are bad, it’s fine, but I don’t.
It wasn’t just the media that gave stinging criticism after Sweden’s 2-1 win over Switzerland.
“When I left the stadium, I was upset because I thought we should do better,” said Kosovar Aslani.
She was far from the only self-critical Swedish player.
Barely a day later, assistant league captain Magnus Wakeman’s tone became more positive.
– We met Switzerland, which is a very good national team if you follow women’s football and that we won was the biggest thing, it’s hard enough. We are so happy. Then the VAR made it clear that we would win by three goals, he points out.
Switzerland ranks 20th in the world rankings and has not won an international title since November. However, only one player lost due to a stomach illness that ravaged the team earlier this week.
30-40 good teams
When asked if Wikman thought it had something to do with ignorance of women’s football, he replied:
– Yes I think so. One of the players in his first eleven was sick in his stomach. They had the best team and they were all healthy and I see that number one. Ranked 20 in football, I guess Swedish men are in 20 um? And if you think they’re bad, that’s fine, but I don’t.
Magnus Wikman points out that the countries ranked best so far in the tournament – England, France and Germany – may not have proven what many believe.
Austria occupies 21st place and challenged England 1-0 at the start. Football as such, they are not the top five but for me 30-40 is a good team. “We were a little better than Switzerland yesterday and we won it,” says the league’s assistant captain.
It was a meeting
Kosovar Aslani was critical of the team’s match, and more players testified to the frustration. How do you deal with that?
– We met with the guys in the morning about the match. We watched the match and I don’t think the players did. We didn’t have time to talk to the players individually, and that will be our job now. My picture was also that the first half was worse than what I experienced when I saw it next.
The thing that was often raised among the players who were available to the media on Thursday was that “there is a lot of emotion”.
– After the match, a lot of feelings prevail. But now that we’ve seen clips and stats, the picture may not reflect what it really looks like, says quarterback Amanda Elstedt and adds that there is no angst in the team.
How do you view criticism of Aslani?
– Of course we talk about the match, and then what people feel after the match is a very individual feeling. We are very happy with the win and that’s what we got into the game.
Benison: ‘I feel better now’
Match hero Hanna Benison has a similar view.
– There was a lot of emotion yesterday after the match. It’s usually after matches but now that we’ve analyzed it looks a little better. Yes, it still feels better, says Benison.
Rebecca Blomqvist points out that Sweden has a good starting position for Sunday.
– Then there is clearly a lot in our game that we can improve, she says.
But do you feel that you can reach the level of those who have performed best in the European Championships so far?
– Absolutely. We see the match from the outside and there is a lot to take with us both offensively and defensively. Then there are things that we need to hone as well, but we’re confident with our game and feel we can develop for the next game.