Five Things to Know About: Sweden

The U.S. Women’s National Team will close out Group F play against Sweden on Thursday, June 20 (3 p.m. ET; FOX and Telemundo) as it continues its quest for a fourth star at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup. The USA is coming off a 3-0 victory against Chile, placing the Americans atop Group F with 6 points and a +16 goal differential. Though the U.S. Women have already secured a spot in the Round of 16, the WNT and Sweden are both are undefeated in the group and the result of this match will decide the first and second-place finishers.

Here are five things you need to know about Sweden…

Sweden Women’s World Cup Team - Roster by Position

GOALKEEPERS (3): 1-Hedvig Lindahl (Chelsea, ENG), 12-Jennifer Falk Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC, 21-Zecira Musovic FC Rosengard

DEFENDERS (7): 2-Jonna Andersson (Chelsea, ENG), 3-Linda Sembrant  (Montpellier HSC, FRA), 4-Hanna Glas (Paris Saint-Germain, FRA), 5-Nilla Fischer (VfL Wolfsburg, GER), 6-Magdalena Eriksson (Chelsea, ENG), 13-Amanda Ilestedt (Turbine Potsdam, GER), 15-Nathalie Bjorn (FC Rosengard) 

MIDFIELDERS (7): 7-Madelen Janogy (Piteå IF), 9-Kosovare Asllani (Linköpings FC), 14-Julia Roddar (Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC), 16-Julia Zigiotti (Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC), 17-Caroline Seger (FC Rosengard), 22-Olivia Schough (Djurgårdens IF DFF), 23-Elin Rubensson (Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC)    

FORWARDS (6): 8-Lina Hurtig (Linköpings FC), 10-Sofia Jakobsson (Montpellier HSC, FRA), 11-Stina Blackstenius (Linköpings FC), 18-Fridolina Rolfo (FC Bayern München, GER), 19-Anna Anvegard (Växjö DFF), 20-Mimmi Larsson (Linköpings FC)

Twelve players that earned a silver medal for Sweden at the 2016 Olympics Games are on Sweden’s 2019 Women’s World Cup roster.

Notable Figures

Veteran midfielder Caroline Seger leads the Scandinavians as captain and has entered her fourth World Cup. She is one of the most experienced players on the team and in the world with 195 caps, three Olympics Games and four Women’s EUROS under her belt. Seger served as captain when the Swedes knocked out the Americans in the quarterfinals of the 2016 Olympic Games and ultimately lead them to a silver medal. Seger played for Olympique Lyonnais alongside U.S. forward Alex Morgan in 2017.

Midfielder Kosovare Asllani has 34 career goals, the most on Sweden’s current roster. She has netted a goal in each game of group play in the World Cup so far, showing her ability to consistently convert for her country and fill the footsteps of Swedish legend Lotta Schelin (185 career caps and 88 goals). Asllani currently plays for Linköping in Sweden, but has played for the Chicago Red Stars, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City.

Long Time Opponents

Sweden has played the U.S. 38 times and has an overall record of 6-21-11. The teams’ first meeting came in 1987, a 2-1 win for Sweden in Blaine, Minnesota. More recently, the two nations met for an international friendly on June 8, 2017 in Gothenburg, which ended in a 1-0 U.S. win after midfielder Rose Lavelle’s goal in the 56th minute. Prior to that, they met in the group stage of the 2015 Women's World Cup in Winnipeg which ended in a 0-0 draw and in the quarterfinals of the 2016 Olympics, a 1-1- draw that Sweden went on to win in penalty kicks. 

World Cup History

Sweden has qualified for every Women’s World Cup, but only seen action in one World Cup Final. That came in 2003 when it fell to Germany 2-1 on a golden goal in overtime. The Nordic nation has advanced to at least the Round of 16 in every tournament, except for in 2007. In the eight editions of the Women’s World Cup, Sweden and the United States have been drawn into the same group five times. The USA has a 3-1-1 advantage on Sweden in World Cup group play.

Sweden head coach Peter Gerhardsson

Sweden’s head coach, Peter Gerhardsson, took over the senior team in 2017, following Pia Sundhage’s departure. His career in football began with his contributions as a U-17, U-19 and U-23 player on multiple Swedish club teams. Gerhardsson transitioned to coaching in 1997 with his management of Bälinge IF. He then went on to lead the U-16 and U-17 Swedish Men’s National Team from 2002-2004, and then manage BK Häcken for seven years. This is his first World Cup as a head coach.