Hey, guys: it's not written in the stars that they're going to lose vs Australia today. They could even *gulp* win. And I guess a particular turn of result could even have them *gulp* win the group.
I'm a big Matildas fan, so it ain't going to happen! Do you know about the riff between Pia & Allsani? It might of taken the steam out of Sweden(especially since Allsani been benched the last couple of games)
Asllani has been kept out by a knee injury. "Frustrating", she says. That's a bit mild for the wild child.
Whelp. Wasn't that a little disappointing. Still, there are no excuses. This team is in exactly the position it deserves to be in. I hope that some individual players will have themselves a nice little Examination of Conscience today, and maybe one or two or three or four of them will be brave and sit themselves out of the next round, in the highly event that Sweden plays another game. Honestly, if we could have 4 Samuelsson clones and 7 Jakobsson clones (including for goalkeeper), that's be nice.
Ha ha ha, now that's the proper way to back your way into a bracket! (i.e., get someone else, preferably someone who's already oppressed, to do the heavy lifting for you.) How did it go for Team Sweden yesterday? Therese Sjögran called it 'the worst [24 hours] in my long carrier'; see her and Caroline Seger jumping for joy in the back parking lot while wearing inappropriate footwear in a picture that does not look at all staged.. The team crammed itself into a little room and 'it became complete chaos when the Brazil game ended.' Elsewhere, Sundhage was pleased to hear the craziness and hopes the players can use that energy in the next match, in which she also thinks they will be smarter. Not many really think they will win, though. Other factors include the short turnaround time and the 6-7 hour bus ride they are now embarking on. Team Germany, on the other hand, has known it was going forward ever since the second round. Aha, and here's some very short footage of happy players celebrating the Brazil game by jumping on their beds (hope the hotel management doesn't get fotbollskanalen) and apparently singing the chorus to that well-know sports anthem 'Crocodile Rock'. The text includes today's lesson in kinda-scary-if-taken-literally Swedish sayings: One person's death is another's bread.
And one more: Sjögran says that it's just as well to have to meet Germany early "because they're always in the way." She adds that they have ended up on the hardest side of the bracket, but that it's surely their own fault. In the same piece Seger says that it's good to know that they have beaten Germany before, but as everyone knows, Team Germany is a machine that has a tendency to raise its level of play in such tournaments.
So bitter... It was a relief though that for once it wasn't a defensive masterpiece on the part of Sweden, scuttled by a bad ref call or a dive - this was a tragic display of unwillingness to make an effort throughout. Now I have to support England against Norway :/
Nemenhej, hagabo_i_exil! Det var länge sedan. Didn't you once call Norway "the best of all the Swedish states"? I cheered for them too, going by that sort of logic. Apparently the combined mental force of all us Swedes sensu lato was enough to sink them. Too bad. Well, if Norwegians are just Swedes with a peculiar dialect, and since Norwegians have invaded England a few times, perhaps we can cheer for England now, as the most skandinaviskt team left.
I saw this clip with the Norwegian players the other day and it seemed to me their dialect was pretty similiar to Schwywzerdeutsch.
So Sweden still can qualify for the Olympics and Sundaghe saved her ***...one time again....crazy how lucky this lady is!!
I hope SvFF does not follow this logic and the fact of England and Japan defeating Netherlands and Norway respectively will not determine Sundhage's future. With all my respect for her, she's among the most responsible for Sweden's poor World Cup display. Right, we all remember the draw was rigged. Right, we are all aware of what a group of death is. However, putting the USA game aside, Sweden was bland and completely forgettable throughout the tournament. I don't think any of the players arrived in Canada thinking that a last minute free kick in the Spain vs Korea Republic game would determine whether Sweden makes it to the Round of 16. Even with Sundhage in charge, Sweden is still the team capable of clinching the Olympic berth but I can't see them winning any major tournament.
Well, "lucky"... hmmm. The group Sweden ended up in was also probably luck – yesyes I know teams were placed, but has anyone got any evidence that FIFA actually spent time figuring out exactly which team would go into exactly which group, after the big decisions about the monetarily favored teams had been made? Frankly I don't at all trust FIFA to know, or care to figure out, the difference between Norway and Sweden, football-wise. (Mind you, I'm happy to be presented with counter-evidence.) On the other hand, I'm not sure I even want them to qualify for the Olympics, if they're just going to mope about like they did in this tournament.
Well, pretty bad, sure, but there was Bartusiak, right? That was Sweden's best chance, was that her natural bartusiasticity would shine through. This game v. Germany reminded me of Sweden's ungracious exit in Euro 09 (I think 09, must check notes). Team Sweden came onto the field looking scared and nervous; Coach Dennerby looked like he was going to puke. When they look like that, it's because they're about to plotz, apparently.
I guess Silv and Pia are both 4-5 years over the best. Just that Silv was supplied with better player material(no, that excludes Bartusiak).
The last shoes i will ever fly in.. Come to Malmö IP on sunday and watch me play my last game!… https://t.co/V9vIboG522— Therese Sjögran (@sjogran) July 8, 2015
Umeå defender Hanna Glas out with an ACL just days after being called up to the NT for the first time. As usual no chance is given to teenagers in the squad, so no Stina Blackstenius. Asllani not in squad for family reasons. Squad against Moldova and Poland: GK Hedvig Lindahl, Chelsea FC Hilda Carlén, Piteå IF Defenders Nilla Fischer, Vf Wolfsburg Emma Berglund, FC Rosengård Linda Sembrant, Montpellier Jessica Samuelsson, Liköpings FC Magdalena Ericson, Linköpings FC Hanna Glas, Umeå IK FF Elin Rubensson, Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC Amanda Ilestedt, FC Rosengård Midefielders/forwards Emilia Appelqvist, Piteå IF Pauline Hammarlund, Piteå IF Malin Diaz, Eskilstuna United Jenny Hjohlman, Umeå IK FF Lina Hurtig, Umeå IK FF Sofia Jakobsson, Montpellier Hérault SC Josefin Johansson, Piteå IF Fridolina Rolfö, Linköpings FC Lotta Schelin, Olympique Lyonnais Olivia Schough, Eskilstuna United Caroline Seger, Paris Saint Germain Lisa Dahlkvist, Paris Saint Germain
Y'know, that world cup was so awful that it put me right off of football for a couple of months there. But, I've decided to risk enormous disappointment again by watching Sweden take on Moldova (ranked 102 in the world, so you'd think I'd be safe) this afternoon... and I'm already glad I did, because I've just now seen something I've never ever seen at a soccer-football game before. The national anthems are being played by an actual band that is actually standing on the field! With real instruments that appear to be made of brass!! Is anyone else seeing this?? Jaha. Well, they've scored already at only 15 seconds in. Guess I can safely read some homework while this is on in the background. Crikey. Still 0-1 in the 24th! Typiskt.
It's been 0-2 for a while now, Schelin with a penalty a long time ago. Now the 85th. even the commentators are bored. Ooo wait, a dangerously-placed free kick... Fischer hammers it, the keeper makes a nice dramatic save. Which means it's still 0-2 against the 102-ranked team in the world. Haha, I should have waited 3 more seconds! Hammarlund makes it 0-3, with two minutes left.
Always brass bands for national anthems at Ullevaal. Sinsen Ungdomskorps! But it is a disappearing feature unfortunately around the world. I love the live music.
here is the full game of Sweden vs Poland. The video quality is not the best, is that an actual crowd in the background, or just props? But anyways, Schough starts at center fwd, and finally Hurtig starts too(at left-mid)