Olympic silver medallists Sweden are third on the world rankings, and their squad have the strength in depth to go all the way to the Fifa Women’s World Cup final.
The strength in depth has been one of the reasons why Sweden has arrived at the tournament with high hopes.
As a result, there is fierce competition for places not only for the starting XI, but also for the match-day squad.
In women’s international football, Sweden is renowned for converting dead-ball situations into goals.
They have a high conversion rate, and it is something Banyana Banyana will have picked up when researching Sweden’s squad.
The spine of the team have been together for a long time. That allows their technical staff to change their playing formation without compromising Sweden’s strengths.
The Nordic country has a rich World Cup pedigree and has played in every tournament since it started in 1991, when they finished in third place. They were hosts in 1995 when they reached the quarter-finals.
In 2003, they ended as runners-up to the USA.
Since then, they were bronze medallists on two occasions (2011 Germany, 2019 France). Only once did they ever exit in the group stage.
One of Sweden’s key players will be striker Lina Hurtig, who plays for English Women’s Super League club Arsenal. Recently she has been struggling with injuries, but tends to step up when it matters.
Hurtig was Sweden’s leading scorer in qualifying after netting five of their 32 goals. She will be a highly marked player at the World Cup.
The team boasts a solid defence with world-class players like Magdalena Eriksson, Linda Sembrant, Amanda Ilestedt, Nathalie Björn and Jonna Andersson to call on.
Coach Peter Gerhardsson, who took over after the 2017 Euros, has taken his team into the top three in two out of the three tournaments since (third place at the 2019 World Cup and silver at the Tokyo Olympics).
He is due for gold, and the 2023 showpiece may just provide the platform for Sweden to finally become the torchbearers of women’s World Cup football.
@Herman_Gibbs