Soccer World Cup 2011 / Sweden

This article covers the Sweden women's national football team in the FIFA World Cup 2011 women in Germany. Sweden was number 5 in the FIFA world rankings before the World Cup and has participated in all previous World Cups. Sweden was runner-up in 2003 and third in 1991. For Sweden, the World Cup was also a qualification for the 2012 Olympic Games in London, for which the two best European teams from the World Cup qualified.

qualification

Sweden qualified against neighbors Denmark in the play-offs of the group winners for the World Cup, after defeating the Czech Republic in the group stage . The Swedes won the first leg against Denmark 2-1, in the second leg the Danes took the lead 2-0 and would have qualified. Charlotte Rohlin succeeded first in the 73rd minute, the connection goal to 1: 2, so that the game had to be extended, and in the 94th minute the equalizer to 2: 2, so that Sweden qualified. The most goals for Sweden were scored by Caroline Seger (7) and Jessica Landström (6). In the 17-0 win against Azerbaijan, Sweden's biggest win and Azerbaijan's biggest defeat, eight Swedes scored goals, and two goals were scored by Azerbaijani players. Here come Linnea Liljegärd three goals as the only player.

Results of the group matches

Pl.	team	Sp.	S.	U	N	Gates	Pt.
1	Sweden	8th	7th	1	0	36: 03	22nd
2	Czech Republic	8th	4th	1	3	19: 06	13
3	Belgium	8th	3	1	4th	18:13	10
4th	Wales	8th	3	0	5	23:16	09
5	Azerbaijan	8th	1	1	6th	02:60	04th

09/23/2009	Gothenburg	Sweden	-	Belgium	02: 1 (1: 0)
October 24, 2009	Baku	Azerbaijan	-	Sweden	00: 3 (0: 1)
October 28, 2009	Lions	Belgium	-	Sweden	01: 4 (0: 1)
03/31/2010	Broughton	Wales	-	Sweden	00: 4 (0: 0)
06/19/2010	Gothenburg	Sweden	-	Czech Republic	00-0
06/23/2010	Gothenburg	Sweden	-	Azerbaijan	17: 0 (7: 0)
08/21/2010	Prague	Czech Republic	-	Sweden	00: 1 (0: 1)
08/25/2010	Vaxjo	Sweden	-	Wales	05: 1 (2: 0)

World Cup squad

On May 30th 2011 Thomas Dennerby nominated 21 players for the World Cup. The most experienced player in the squad is the record national player Therese Sjögran with 169 international matches, who was also used at the 2003 and 2007 World Championships. The players have an average height of 1.73 m - only the German squad is on average a few millimeters larger. Here is Sara Thunebro with 1.65 m, the smallest and Jessica Landström with 1.80 m the biggest player.

No.	player	Date of birth	society	debut	International matches	International goals	World Cup games	World Cup 2011
								Sp.	Gates
goal
1	Hedvig Lindahl	04/29/1983	Kristianstads DFF	2002	077	00	3 (2007)	6th	0	0	0	0
12	Kristin Hammarström	03/29/1982	Kopparbergs / Gothenburg FC	2008	012	00	0 (2007)	0	0	0	0	0
21st	Sofia Lundgren	09/20/1982	Linköpings FC	2002	023	00	1 (2003)	0	0	0	0	0
Defense
2	Charlotte Rohlin	December 2nd, 1980	Linköpings FC	2007	051	06th	0 (2007)	6th	0	0	0	0
3	Linda Sembrant	05/15/1987	Kopparbergs / Gothenburg FC	2008	026th	01		2	0	0	0	0
4th	Annica Svensson	03/03/1983	Tyresö FF	2010	020th	00		6th	0	1	0	0
6th	Sara Thunebro	04/26/1979	1. FFC Frankfurt	2004	080	03	2 (2007)	6th	0	0	0	0
7th	Sara Larsson	05/13/1979	KIF Örebro	2000	110	08th	5 (2003)	6th	0	0	0	0
13	Lina Nilsson	06/17/1987	LdB FC Malmö	2009	029	00		1	0	0	0	0
midfield
5	Caroline Seger	March 19, 1985	Western New York Flash	2005	083	12	3 (2007)	3	0	2	0	0
10	Sofia Jakobsson	04/23/1990	Umeå IK	2011	005	00		2	0	0	0	0
11	Antonia Göransson	09/16/1990	Hamburger SV	2010	013	00		2	0	0	0	0
15th	Therese Sjögran	04/08/1977	Sky Blue FC	1997	176	19th	8 (2003, 2007)	6th	1	1	0	0
17th	Lisa Dahlkvist	02/20/1987	Kopparbergs / Gothenburg FC	2008	043	09		6th	3	0	0	0
18th	Nilla Fischer	08/02/1984	LdB FC Malmö	2001	078	11	2 (2007)	5	1	2	0	0
20th	Marie Hammarström	03/29/1982	KIF Örebro	2010	013	01		3	1	0	0	0
attack
8th	Lotta Schelin	02/27/1984	Olympique Lyon	2004	095	40	3 (2007)	6th	2	0	0	0
9	Jessica Landström	12/12/1984	1. FFC Frankfurt	2007	055	17th		3	1	0	0	0
14th	Josefine Öqvist	07/23/1983	Tyresö FF	2002	070	18th	4 (2003)	5	1	0	0	1
16	Linda Forsberg	06/19/1985	LdB FC Malmö	2007	033	04th	2 (2007)	6th	0	0	0	0
19th	Madelaine Edlund	September 15, 1985	Tyresö FF	2007	023	01	0 (2007)	2	0	0	0	0
Coaching staff
Förbundskapten	Thomas Dennerby	08/13/1959	Svenska Fotbollförbundet	2005	95		3 (2007)	6th	0	0	0	0
Co-trainer	Ann-Helén Grahm							6th	0	0	0	0
Goalkeeping coach	Mikael Olsson	11/22/1957						6th	0	0	0	0
Remarks: ↑ As of May 30, 2011 ↑ a b As of July 13, 2011 after the game against Japan ↑ Status: Before the World Cup ↑ a b As Förbundskapten

preparation

In preparation for the tournament, four friendlies were scheduled. In addition, there was an unofficial game against England on May 15, 2011, which was won 1-0.

date	place	opponent	Result	Goal scorers
April 2, 2011	Palestrina Calcio ( Rome )	Canada	1: 0 (0: 0)	Charlotte Rohlin
May 17, 2011	Kassam Stadium ( Oxford )	England	0: 2 (0: 0)	-; Jill Scott , Karen Carney
June 16, 2011	Gothenburg	Mexico	2: 0 (1: 0)	Lisa Dahlkvist , Lotta Schelin
June 23, 2011	Bochum ( Germany )	Japan	1: 1 (0: 1)	Therese Sjögran ; Azusa Iwashimizu

Group games

In Group C, Sweden met for the first time in an A international match against World Cup newcomers Colombia , against whose U-20 team the Swedish U-20 team lost 2-0 at the U-20 World Cup a year ago . The Swedes led the game largely superior and had several good chances in the first 20 minutes, but the precision was lacking in the end. Colombia was then able to keep the Swedes away from their own goal better, but did not develop any scoring opportunities for themselves despite having more possession. In the 57th minute, Jessica Landström scored the 1-0 winner after Lotta Schelin's preliminary work . Further chances could not be used and in the end the Swedes managed the result.

In the second game, Sweden met North Korea , the runner-up in the 2010 Asian Cup . The Swedes started with the same line-up as against Colombia and Lotta Schelin had the first good chance to score in the 2nd minute, but shot wide. North Korea was then able to narrow the spaces and so the Swedes hardly got any further opportunities. The North Koreans were not able to create good chances to score. In the second half, too, it took a long time for goal scenes to emerge again, although the Swedes were more decisive in the game. In the 64th minute, Lisa Dahlkvist used a fine combination for the 1-0 winning goal. Because despite efforts, the North Koreans only got one chance, which Sara Thunebro had to clarify on the line. The Swedes had the better chances in the end, but failed several times due to their weakness in the final. It was the fourth win in their fourth game against North Korea and for the first time Sweden won the first two games at a World Cup.

In the last game they met the Olympic champion USA, trained by the Swede Pia Sundhage . The Swedes had to do without their captain Caroline Seger , who received her second yellow card against North Korea . She was represented by Nilla Fischer , who had previously only been substituted on. It was the 30th meeting of the two teams, Sweden had won four times, seven games ended in draws, of which Sweden won one on penalties. The USA won 18 games, three of them at world championships. The last time they met was in January at the four-nation tournament , where Sweden won 2-1. Both teams were already qualified for the quarter-finals, so it was all about winning the group, i. H. who in the quarter-finals against runner-up world champions Brazil and who plays against the Australians who surprisingly eliminated former world champions Norway. Both teams played for victory from the start. In the 14th minute, Swedish striker Lotta Schelin penetrated the US penalty area and was dropped by Amy LePeilbet , who had shown weaknesses in previous games. Lisa Dahlkvist , who had already scored the winning goal against North Korea, converted the penalty kick to 1-0. In the period that followed, both teams had many chances to score, one of which was used by the substitute captain Fischer in the 35th minute when she shot a free kick from 25 m directly on goal and the ball was deflected into goal for Hope Solo . After the change, the USA pushed for the connection, but were mostly too imprecise or repeatedly got caught in the Swedish defense. Only in the 67th minute Abby Wambach succeeded with her 119th international goal when she heaved a corner sharply into the penalty area with her head and shoulder. The US girls pushed even harder to equalize and as the Scandinavians' strength waned, there were more scoring opportunities. With luck and skill, the Swedes survived this phase. Towards the end, the Swedes also had some chances on the counterattack, but were unlucky that a goal by Schelin was not recognized because the linesman saw them offside. It remained 2-1 for Sweden, which means that after this first victory against the USA at a World Cup, they move into the quarter-finals as group winners. For the USA it was the first defeat in the 18th World Cup preliminary round.

rank	country	Gates	Points
1	Sweden	4: 1	9
2	United States	6: 2	6th
3	North Korea	0: 3	1
4th	Colombia	0: 4	1

Tuesday, June 28, 2011, 3 p.m. in Leverkusen
Colombia	-	Sweden	0: 1 (0: 0)
Saturday, July 2, 2011, 2 p.m. in Augsburg
North Korea	-	Sweden	0: 1 (0: 0)
Wednesday, July 6, 2011, 8:45 p.m. in Wolfsburg
Sweden	-	United States	2: 1 (2: 0)

Knockout games

Sunday, July 10, 2011, 1 p.m. in Augsburg
Sweden	-	Australia	3: 1 (2: 1)
Wednesday, July 13, 2011, 8:45 p.m. in Frankfurt
Japan	-	Sweden	3: 1 (1: 1)
Saturday, July 16, 2011, 5:30 p.m. in Sinsheim
Sweden	-	France	2: 1 (1: 0)

As group winners Sweden met in the quarterfinals on July 10 in Augsburg in Australia , the runners-up of Group D. So far, there have been eight games between Sweden and Australia, five times won Sweden - most recently in the quarterfinals of the Olympic Games in Athens . Only once could Australia win directly, two games ended in a draw, one of which Australia won on penalties.

This time too, the Swedes were able to prevail, with Caroline Seger acting as captain again after her suspension from yellow. Record national player Therese Sjögran scored the 1-0 in the 11th minute and prepared the 2-0 five minutes later through Lisa Dahlkvist , who scored her third World Cup goal. Ellyse Perry , who was used for the first time, made it exciting again in the 40th minute when she scored a 2-1 goal for the Matildas with a shot from the corner of the penalty area into the corner of the goal. Seven minutes after the change, Lotta Schelin , the player of the game, made it 3-1 when she got a back pass from Kim Carroll , outplayed the goalkeeper and shot into the goal. Australia then lacked the ideas to turn the tide again. This is the third time that Sweden has reached the semi-finals and on July 13, 2011 in Frankfurt am Main they will face Japan , the conquerors of the German team .

Preparing for the game for place against France (2011)

Sofia Jakobsson , Josefine Öqvist and Madelaine Edlund celebrate winning 3rd place at the World Cup in Germany

So far there have been eight games between the two countries, Sweden won four times, Japan won twice and they drew twice, most recently in a test match before the World Cup on June 23 in Bochum .

By reaching the semi-finals, Sweden was able to qualify for the Olympic Games in London , as the German team was eliminated against Japan and Norway in the preliminary round.

Sweden had to contest the semi-finals without their regular captain Caroline Seger because she was injured while warming up. She had to be replaced by Marie Hammarström at short notice , as Nilla Fischer was also not available due to a yellow card suspension. Nevertheless, Sweden was able to take a 1-0 lead in the 10th minute through Josefine Öqvist's first World Cup goal . But in the 19th minute, Nahomi Kawasumi was able to equalize with her first World Cup goal. In the 60th minute Homare Sawa then scored her fourth goal at this World Cup with a header and the 2-1 lead. Again Kawasumi ensured the 3-1 victory for Japan in the 64th minute.

Sweden played against France in the small final in Sinsheim on July 16 . Before that, there had been 16 games between the two teams, Sweden won 10, the French won four, and two were drawn. The last time they met at the Algarve Cup in 2007 was a game for third place, which Sweden won 3-1. Sweden was again victorious in 2011 with a 2-1 win and thus achieved 3rd place in the World Cup in Germany. Sweden had to compete again without a Seger, but Nilla Fischer was available again. In the 29th minute, Lotta Schelin took the 1-0 lead with her second goal. The French goalkeeper Bérangère Sapowicz was injured while trying to defend herself and had to be replaced, as had Louisa Nécib , who had already entered the game with problems . Shortly after the 1-0 goal, the French failed when attempting a shot on the crossbar or Hedvig Lindahl, who played flawlessly this time . In the second half, the French pushed for the equalizer and were rewarded in the 56th minute with a goal from Élodie Thomis . In the 68th minute Josefine Öqvist was sent off after violating Sonia Bompastor . Since the spectators could not see the assault, Bompastor was whistled every time the ball hit the ball. The French, who had previously gained the upper hand, could not exploit the numerical superiority - the Swedish team had the better scoring opportunities. One of them - after an unjustified corner - was used by substitute Marie Hammarström in the 82nd minute and scored the 2-1 winner with her first international goal.

Awards

• Caroline Seger and Lotta Schelin were elected to the All-Star-Team.
• Marie Hammarström's goal against France was nominated for the best goal of the tournament and was voted the third best goal by FIFA.com users.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ UEFA.com: Sweden - Azerbaijan match report
2. ^ Dam: Sveriges VM-troop
3. ↑ Numbers and positions according to the FIFA squad list [1]
4. ↑ Dam: Sofia segerskytt mot England
5. ↑ FIFA.com: Sweden kick off made-to-measure
6. ↑ weltfussball.de: Live ticker Sweden - USA
7. ↑ FIFA.com: The highlights of the game Sweden 3-1 Australia
8. ↑ The FFF counts one more game (1-0 for France), which took place on April 2, 1991 at a tournament in Varna , but in which the U-20 team from Sweden probably took part. [2] [3]
9. ↑ weltfussball.de: Live ticker France - Sweden
10. ↑ FIFA.com: Double Honor for Sawa , accessed May 20, 2017.
11. ↑ FIFA.com: Goal of the Tournament