Revitalized Sweden pose serious threat to England

ZURICH -- There's been plenty of talk about England's 4-0 win over Sweden in the semifinals of Euro 2022 this week. At Bramall Lane it was England's day, a match immortalised by Alessia Russo's backheel goal, and a performance which teed up their finest day, victory against Germany in the final at Wembley. But any talk of that match having any swing on Thursday's Euro 2025 quarterfinal in Zurich has been shut down.

Leah Williamson, England's captain three years ago, will lead them once again. It was standing-room only at England's spectacular base at the opulent Dolder Grand hotel just outside the hubbub of Zurich when she spoke to the media on Tuesday. She reflected on triumphs past, hope of glory in the future but also the size of the task facing England right now.

The teams have played each other twice since, both matches ending in draws with Sweden the unluckier. So England are under no illusions about the size of task. A group of the Lionesses, including Williamson, watched Sweden's 4-1 dismantling of Germany on Saturday and they came away impressed. "I do think Sweden deserve a little bit more recognition," Williamson said.

In the Sweden camp, they have been training in far more ordinary surroundings, away from the UEFA recommended list. They're at a fitness centre in Cham, a town 30 kilometres north of Zurich, called "On Your Mark." The rooms are minimalist, and the facilities not as extravagant. But Sweden prioritised ease: the players walk from their facilities onto the training pitch, where Nathalie Björn will have a playlist ready for them. They still have the customary pool table, golf simulator and other distractions -- but the ice rink is off-limits.

That's not to say the whole setup hasn't had its teething problems, like assistant coach Magnus Wilkman having a room next to building work. "I have a construction site in the living room, an angle grinder in the kitchen and a crane that is controlled from the headboard," he said. "They start working at a quarter past five every morning. If you open the blinds, you can shake hands with the guy in the crane."

England will be well aware how hard this game will be. Sweden took the bronze medal in the 2023 Women's World Cup (including knocking out the United States on penalties in the round of 16) and they are on a 16-match unbeaten run. At Euro 2025, Sweden are three wins from three, sealed by that dominant victory over Germany which secured top spot in the group and a date at the Stadion Letzigrund.

Peter Gerhardsson is still the head coach, thought this fourth major tournament in charge of the Blågult will be his last. But this is a very different Sweden side.

Sweden have four players under the age of 25, compared to two in 2023. Forward Ellen Wangerheim is breaking through and Hanna Lundkvist is more established having missed the last World Cup with an ankle injury. But experience is still at their core. They have an average of 68 caps per player in the squad, compared to England's 41.3. Stalwarts such as Hedvig Lindahl and Caroline Seger have stepped aside, while legends like Linda Sembrant, Magdalena Eriksson, Kosovare Asllani (now on an incredible 202 caps), Stina Blackstenius, Fridolina Rolfö and Sofia Jakobsson remain. That does have its benefits: the more caps you have, the higher up the pecking order you are for picking rooms.

They are heading toward the twilight years of their international careers, but youth is being brought through at the same time. Smilla Holmberg, the 18-year-old right-back from Hammarby IF, was sensational against Germany and has caught the eye of her teammates. "It's inspiring when such a young player goes out and plays with such courage," Johanna Rytting Kaneryd said.

This Sweden team is physical, happy to play on the counterattack and quick to shift the ball wide. They've completed more crosses than any other team at the Euros (89, which is 14 more than Germany in second place), love trying to isolate the full-backs into one-vs.-one situations and have made the joint-most fouls. Chelsea's Rytting Kaneryd is integral to this. She's been keeping a close eye on England's Lauren James in training back at her club, and is lethal at crossing from the byline but also cutting inside and turning full-backs inside out. Her link-up with Filippa Angeldahl is central to Sweden's gameplan while it remains to be seen whether Gerhardsson sticks with Rolfö, who missed their opener through injury, on the left wing or Madelen Janogy, after she played against both Denmark and Poland.

Leading the line is Arsenal's Blackstenius, who Williamson knows very well from club training. "Stina is an incredibly powerful footballer," Williamson said. "She's really intelligent with her runs. She's a great player and she has been for many years now. Her experience speaks for itself."

The defence is anchored by Björn and Eriksson, who missed their first two matches, with Jennifer Falk in goal (Zecira Musovic was first choice but announced in February she is pregnant.)

England know the threats and they are anticipating plenty of battles in the air. "Definitely, it's one of their main threats," Williamson said. "And they are good at it and it's something that we've had a look at. Obviously you want to try to stop the crosses, but we are all prepared for the battle in the air."

On Sweden's physicality, Williamson added: "Again, one of their main strengths I think that comes with discipline. They're great athletes and they produce great athletes as a country. I think we are too. It's a good battle in that sense, but yeah, something that we must be prepared for."

Ella Toone has an eye on their transitional play. "We watched Sweden the other night, they looked really good, a very good counter-attacking team," she said.

England are much-changed since that meeting at the last Euros. Much-loved and successful personnel like Jill Scott, Ellen White, Fran Kirby, Rachel Daly and Mary Earps have gone. But England are keen to talk up Sweden's strengths, the feeling being their rivals have been flying under the radar a touch.

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Kelly: 'Everyone is ready for their moment'

Chloe Kelly speaks ahead of England's quarterfinal against Sweden in the Women's European Championship.

"We've spoken about Sweden's previous tournament history, it's incredible," Williamson said. "They're relentless when it comes to tournament football. They're just a very organized team. They work hard, we know their characteristics, so it'll be tough.

"They work so well together. [They] don't necessarily have to have a crazy standout threat here or there because everybody plays their role. They are hard to prepare for in that sense. Their discipline of wanting to complete the job on the pitch makes them a dangerous side."

In the Sweden camp, there's also a drop of surprise at how they haven't seen their name mentioned in the same breath as other perceived favourites. "I think you can never count out Sweden in a championship, we have had good results before and everyone knows that," Rytting Kaneryd said. "A championship is special in many ways and we are strong there.

"But it's clear, look at Spain, they have had absolutely fantastic matches and scored some goals. Now that we've scored four goals against Germany, maybe we will be more dangerous. It doesn't feel like people talk about Sweden that way and I don't know why. We've always been a bit of an underdog. I definitely think teams are starting to notice us and feel like they might not want to face us."

Asllani has hinted this may be her final tournament. Others may follow suit, but this is no "Last Dance" for them. Playing for Sweden is addictive for so many, which explains their several centurions.

And the Swedish fans are enthralled by this run, with the team's allocation of tickets sold out in an hour. Gerhardsson said the support has at times taken his breath away, while the players feed off it. "We never thought it would be as big as it is," Rytting Kaneryd said. "It's a really good sign that we have the support from Sweden."

There'll be a wall of yellow awaiting England, and the Lionesses will feel the claustrophobia of the Blågult's support. Amid all the subplots, there's a quarterfinal to win.

When a manager announces pre-tournament it's to be their final competition, it's rare they'll know in advance when their last match will be. We've already seen two managers bow out in Denmark's Andrée Jeglertz and Netherlands' Andries Jonker after subpar performances. But Gerhardsson has kept the ship afloat and headed in the right direction. When he does step away, he will remember games like the one in Sheffield, but he hopes the best memory is yet to come.

"It didn't go well for us [at Euro 2022] because they scored four goals, but that is history," he said. "Now it is a new game if we are going to meet England. We are going to write a new history, a better history, a good history."