Sweden captain Kosovare Asllani says her nation can beat any team in the world ahead of their Euro 2025 quarter-final against England.
The title-holding Lionesses are the favourites heading into the quarter-final in Zurich, after scoring 10 goals in two recent Euro 2025 fixtures. Asllani, who made her international debut for Sweden 16 years ago, is prepared for the challenge of being the underdog.
“It’s something that kind of suits us,” Asllani said. “We think that we are one of the best teams in the world due to the results we’ve been getting the last few years from the tournaments. But, people rarely speak about us as someone that can win gold.
“So we are flying under the radar and it suits us, because I think we know we can beat any team in the world when we have our best day. We don’t think about it too much, but people should definitely talk about us more. I think it’s going to be a really even game.
“England have a lot of talented players, while our biggest strength lies in the team and the way we play as a team. We can expect a really intense football game on our part and obviously a physical game, because we love to play those kinds of games when it’s a physical battle. May the best team win.”
Sweden ‘don’t have the word fear in our dictionary’ says Asllani
Speaking after England’s 6-1 victory over Wales on match day three of the competition, Lionesses midfielder Ella Toone told ITV that “Sweden should be scared”.
Sweden captain Asllani put it simply: “Fear? No. We don’t have the word fear in our dictionary. We look up the word courage.”
“We respect England and the team they have and everything they have achieved so far. Of course you have to respect one of the best sides in the world and we have the perfect gameplan for this match.
“We want to achieve the football we want to represent. I feel more a sense of longing to start the game. We want to go out and play our football intensely and physically. In our minds there is only one outcome and that is to win the game.
“They have a way of playing that we are used to. They have a large number of incredibly skilled players that we need to keep an eye on. We have incredible belief in one another and the entire team. We play very intense and physical football and we have developed enormously over these last few years. We are a very hungry side, we want success.
“The tournament really gets going once the group stage is over. We have been at this stage before. We are used to it. Playing against the best in the world. These are the matches that are fun to play. It’s going to be an incredibly tough match, but we are fairly evenly matched.”
You can read all of the latest news, analysis and opinion at Euro 2025 on The Halfway Line.
