lig. The most important weapon for Sweden against Portugal could be the fixed positions.
Francisco Neto knows that it will be difficult to stop all Swedes for a long time.
– Our girls can’t grow in height until tomorrow, says the league captain.
The last time Sweden faced Portugal in the Algarve Cup was at the end of February.
The host country started the match quickly and managed to cross the Swedish defense line several times. In the second half, Sweden switched and scored four goals, most of which arose in fixed positions.
So, for natural reasons, Portugal captain Francisco Neto was asked about fixed positions in the press conference ahead of Sunday’s group decision.
He points out that Sweden is not only “good” in this area.
– They are very good. Very well, says Netto.
11 cm difference
The Swedish central lock, who started against Switzerland, Amanda Illest and Natalie Bjorn, is 178 and 174 cm, respectively. The Portuguese midfielders who started the match against the Netherlands, Carol Costa and Diana Gomez, are 173 and 167 cm tall respectively.
In addition, goalkeeper Hedvig Lindahl (179 cm) is 11 cm taller than his Portuguese counterpart Ines Pereira.
– We’ll have a strategy tomorrow. Our girls can’t grow in height until tomorrow, but we must of course try to compete. We have to be focused and well prepared. Neto says Sweden is stronger but we have a plan.
The league captain adds that the Netherlands are a physical team as well, a match which ended in a narrow 2-3 loss.
We also know how strong their front line is, but we are prepared. Everything we’ve done so far has prepared us for that, says Francisco Neto.
press in sweden
Portugal won’t have the most pressure on their shoulders when they run out of players at Lee Sports Village tomorrow.
The pressure is on Sweden, says Neto, as his team is gaining strength as they have been able to face flaws in their previous two group matches.
It depends on them (Sweden) to qualify for the next round. But we’ve been able to compete so far, even though we haven’t always started matches well, he says.
We lost 0-2 twice. But Sweden, of course, knows what to expect.
Sweden needs to win or play a draw to reach the quarter-finals. Portugal, which ranks 30th by value, has never fallen out of the group before.