Sweden Euro 2022 group stage fixtures
Read more about Netherlands, Switzerland and Portugal by clicking on the team’s name.
How they qualified
Major tournament record
European Championship
Best European Championship performance: Champions- 1984.
Most-recent European Championship performance: Quarter-finals- 2017.
FIFA World Cup
Best World Cup performance: Runners-up- 2003.
Most-recent World performance: Semi-finals- 2019.
Olympic Games
Best Olympic performance: Silver Medal- 2016 & 2021.
Most-recent Olympic performance: Silver Medal- 2021.
Sweden at Euro 2022: Will Sweden’s major tournament success continue?
Sweden players celebrate after the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 qualifying match at Tallaght Stadium, Dublin. Picture date: Thursday October 21, 2021.
After coming so close to Olympic Games glory last summer, will Sweden be crowned European Champions this time round?
Last year, the Blågult reached the Olympic Games Final, beating favourites USA, Australia twice, New Zealand and Japan en route.
Once there, despite taking the lead through Stina Blackstenius, Canada equalised, thereby forcing a penalty shootout.
In that, the Blue and Yellows missed four of their six spot-kicks in Yokohama, meaning it was the North American side claimed the gold.
This is actually the second consecutive Olympics at which Sweden have claimed silver, losing to Germany in the Gold Medal Match five years earlier.
Meanwhile, they’ve also reached four World Cup semi-finals to date, finishing third in 2019, and were beaten finalists in 2003.
At European Championships, Sweden are the inaugural winners in 1984, subsequently losing in two finals and four semi-finals.
All in all, very few national teams can boast the same pedigree as Sweden, even if they’re still seeking their first tournament win in 38 years.
In qualifying, Peter Gerhardsson’s side won seven of eight matches, meaning they’re currently unbeaten in 21 competitive games.
The last team to beat them is Netherlands, winning 1-0 when the two met in a World Cup semi-final three summers ago.
Those two will meet again in Sheffield on matchday one, before Sweden take on the group’s outsiders Switzerland and Portugal.
The Blågult have never failed to reach the quarter-finals at a European Championships, and that’s highly unlikely to change this summer.
Key players: Magdalena Eriksson
2GACAFA Tokyo 2020 Olympics – Soccer Football – Women – Quarterfinal – Sweden v Japan – Saitama Stadium, Saitama, Japan – July 30, 2021. Magdalena Eriksson of Sweden celebrates scoring their first goal REUTERS/Molly Darlington
Sweden’s star defender is Magdalena Eriksson, who can play at either centre-back or on the left, deployed as the latter in last summer’s Gold Medal match.
The 28 year old has 84 caps to her name, scoring ten times, breaking the deadlock in the Olympic quarter-final victory over Japan.
At club level, since joining Chelsea in 2017, she’s lifted ten major trophies, including four FAWSL titles.
Eriksson remains a key figure in this dominant Chelsea side, featuring in 69 of their 81 league matches since the start of 2018/19.
This season, she completed 83% of passes, won 57.1% of tackles and accumulating 21 blocks and 26 interceptions.
In short, Eriksson is an all-action defender and will remain key to Sweden’s success.
Key players: Stina Blackstenius
Tokyo, Japan. 21st July, 2021. Stina Blackstenius (11) celebrates after scoring a goal against team United States during a Women’s Group G football match at Tokyo Stadium during the Tokyo Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, on Wednesday July 21, 2021. Photo by Richard Ellis/UPI Credit: UPI/Alamy Live News
In truth, highlighting who Sweden’s key attackers are is difficult, given the array of talent they possess.
Kosovare Asllani, Lina Hurtig and Sofia Jakobsson all could have been chosen, but Stina Blackstenius’ knack of scoring big goals just edged it.
The 26 year old has 26 international goals to her name, netting at two Olympic Games, Euro 2017 and World Cup 2019.
Last summer in Japan, she scored four times in total, including a brace against USA, as Sweden claimed silver medals once again.
Having netted but been on the losing side at each of the last two Gold Medal matches, Blackstenius is craving that illusive winners medal.
At club level, she joined Arsenal earlier this year, scoring seven goals in just eight starts, netting in their final two matches of the season.
For the national team, Blackstenius can always be counted upon in big moments, so will that trend continue?
Key players: Fridolina Rolfö
Gothenburg, Sweden. 25th Nov, 2021. Fridolina Rolfö celebrates her goal during the Women’s World Cup 2023 Qualifier match between Sweden and Finland at Gamla Ullevi stadium in Gothenburg, Sweden November 25, 2021 Photo: Bjorn Larsson Rosvall / TT / kod 9200 Credit: TT News Agency/Alamy Live News
Sweden’s other main goal threat is striker Fridolina Rolfö.
Since scoring her first international goal in 2016, Rolfö has added 21 more, including three in two meetings with Australia last summer.
In total, the 28 year old has scored four goals in 19 major tournament appearances, a ratio she’s seeking to improve at these Euros.
At club level, she won trophies with Linköping and VfL Wolfsburg, before claiming a domestic treble with Barcelona Femení this season.
Rolfö started in the Champions League Final as recently as May, in which her team beaten 3-1 by Lyon.
In all, having scored 18 goals for club and country this season, she’ll come into this tournament full of confidence.
Sweden possible starting line-up for Euro 2022
Sweden full squad for Euro 2022
Goalkeepers
Defenders
Midfielders
Forwards
