On Thursday, November 7th, the United States Women’s National Team will play their first match under new head coach Vlatko Andonovski when they face Sweden, who finished third at the 2019 Women’s World Cup. This will be the 40th match all-time versus Sweden. Last month, Sweden announced a travel roster of 23 players (SvFF), though that roster has since been reduced to 21 as Linda Sembrant suffered a contusion during a club match (SvFF), while Caroline Seger was withdrawn for unspecified recovery reasons (SvFF).
Seger did not play for Sweden during the October window, as she was recovering from an injury, but she had since returned to playing for her club team.
Sweden is also without another veteran player, Nilla Fischer, who sustained an ankle injury in August which has put on her an indefinite injury leave.
Another experienced player not on this roster is Elin Rubensson, most likely due to suffering a concussion in late September, which also caused her to be a late scratch from Sweden’s October roster. This is her fourth (known) concussion. (AftonBladet.se)
Also absent is VfLWolfsburg forward Fridolina Rolfö due to an unspecified injury (AftonBladet.se). She has over 40 caps and 10 goals for Sweden. (Rolfö’s SvFF statistics/database profile)
Forward Pauline Hammarlund, who has 4 goals in 18 caps, returns after having her meniscus injured in August (AftonBladet.se).
Midfielder Hanna Bennison, who just turned 17 last month, has been called into her first senior WNT call-up. Bennison has 28 youth WNT caps for Sweden, primarily at the U-17 level, where she has 3 assists, but she also has 7 U-23 caps, including one against the U-23 USWNT at the 2019 Nordic Cup in August. For this year’s Damallsvenskan season, Bennison featured in 18 matches, starting in 16, while scoring 3 goals, and earning 2 assists. (Bennison’s SvFF statistics/database profile)
Match Details
- Date: Thursday, November 7, 2020
- Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
- Venue: MAPFRE Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
- TV: Fox Sports 1 (FS1) – Pregame coverage begins at 7:00 p.m.
SWEDEN ROSTER – LIST FORMAT
Sweden’s official write-ups currently do not provide neat lists, but instead use tiles for each player, which are sorted by position, then by alphabetical order. The tiles start with goalkeepers, followed by defenders, and finally, a combination of midfielders and forwards. The below list separates forwards and midfielders based on what their listed position was for the 2019 WWC, if available, otherwise, Wikipedia was used (SWE WNT page).
Goalkeepers (3):
- Jennifer Falk [Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC; 0/0]
- Hedvig Lindahl [VfL Wolfsburg e.V. (GER); 168/0]
- Zecira Musovic [FC Rosengård; 2/0]
Defenders (6):
- Jonna Andersson [Chelsea FC (ENG); 45/0]
- Nathalie Björn [FC Rosengård; 15/3]*
- Magdalena Eriksson [Chelsea FC (ENG); 58/6]
- Hanna Glas [Paris Saint-Germain FC (FRA); 32/0]
- Emma Kullberg [
KIF Örebro DFF; 0/0] (just signed with Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC) - Jessica Samuelsson [FC Rosengård; 56/0]**
Linda Sembrant [Juventus FC (ITA); 120/11]
*Although listed as a midfielder, Björn has been most recently used in Sweden’s midfield
**Per SvFF’s write-up, Samuelsson can be used as an outside back and also as an outside midfielder.
Midfielders (6):
- Kosovare Asllani [CD Tacón (ESP); 137/37]
- Hanna Bennison [FC Rosengård; 0/0]
- Michelle De Jongh [Vittsjö GIK; 0/0]
- Madelen Janogy [Piteå IF DFF; 10/4]
- Julia Karlernäs [Piteå IF DFF; 3/0]
Caroline Seger [FC Rosengård; 201/28]- Julia Zigiotti Olme [Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC; 12/0]
Forwards (6):
- Anna Anvegård [FC Rosengård; 13/1]
- Stina Blackstenius [Linköpings FC; 53/14]
- Pauline Hammarlund [Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC; 18/4]
- Lina Hurtig [Linköpings FC; 28/5]
- Sofia Jakobsson [CD Tacón (ESP); 110/20]
- Loreta Kullashi [Eskilstuna United DFF; 5/3]
This table adds age and height information for each player (if available). Players are sorted by position, then by caps, from high to low.
Table 1: Sweden Roster for November 2019 (USWNT Friendly)
W Full Name P. HT. D.O.B. AGE CLUB TEAM CAP G * Hedvig Lindahl GK 70.5 04/29/1983 36.53 Wolfsburg(GER) 168 0 * Zecira Musovic GK 70.1 05/26/1996 23.45 FC Rosengård 2 0 * Jennifer Falk GK 67.3 04/26/1993 26.53 Göteborg FC 0 0 * Magdalena Eriksson DF 67.7 09/08/1993 26.16 Chelsea (ENG) 58 6 Jessica Samuelsson DF 65.4 01/30/1992 27.77 FC Rosengård 56 0 * Jonna Andersson DF 65.7 01/02/1993 26.84 Chelsea (ENG) 45 0 * Hanna Glas DF 67.7 04/16/1993 26.56 PSG (FRA) 32 0 * Nathalie Björn DF 68.5 05/04/1997 22.51 FC Rosengård 15 3 Emma Kullberg DF 66.9 09/25/1991 28.12 Göteborg FC 0 0 * Kosovare Asllani MF 65.4 07/29/1989 30.28 CD Tacón (ESP) 137 37 * Julia Zigiotti Olme MF 64.2 12/24/1997 21.87 Göteborg FC 12 0 * Madelen Janogy MF 64.6 11/12/1995 23.99 Piteå IF DFF 10 4 Julia Karlernäs MF 68.9 10/06/1993 26.09 Piteå IF DFF 3 0 Hanna Bennison MF --.- 10/16/2002 17.06 FC Rosengård 0 0 Michelle De Jongh MF 63.4 05/19/1997 22.47 Vittsjö GIK 0 0 * Sofia Jakobsson FW 68.5 04/23/1990 29.54 CD Tacón (ESP) 110 20 * Stina Blackstenius FW 68.5 02/05/1996 23.75 Linköpings FC 53 14 * Lina Hurtig FW 70.9 09/05/1995 24.17 Linköpings FC 28 5 Pauline Hammarlund FW 67.7 05/07/1994 25.50 Göteborg FC 18 4 Anna Anvegård FW 65.0 05/10/1997 22.49 FC Rosengård 13 1 Loreta Kullashi FW 67.3 05/20/1999 20.47 Eskilstuna Utd 5 3 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Linda Sembrant DF 68.9 05/15/1987 32.48 Juventus(ITA) 120 11 * Caroline Seger MF 68.1 03/19/1985 34.64 FC Rosengård 201 28
The “W” column indicates players who were on Sweden’s 2019 WWC roster.
Heights are in inches (converted from centimeters).
Dates are in “mm/dd/yyyy” format.
Age is as of November 7, 2019 (the date of the USWNT friendly)
Caps and goal information is as of November 6, 2019.
Data Sources: Heights and birthdays are from FIFA.com for players on the 2019 WWC roster, otherwise Wikipedia or EuroSport. Caps, goals, and club information is from the SvFF website.
MOST RECENT LINE-UPS
During the September and October windows, Sweden played three qualifiers for the 2021 Women’s Euro. These are the basic tactical starting line-ups, as listed on the UEFA website and confirmed via the SvFF’s Twitter feed, which posts starting line-up (Startelvan) images with the listed players grouped in a 1-4-3-3 format. Crossed-out players are not available for the friendly versus the USWNT.
vs. Slovakia (08-Oct-2019) (Twitter)
Lindahl
Glas – Sembrant – Eriksson – Andersson
Zigiotti Olme – Asllani – Bjorn
Jakobsson – Janogy – Hurtig
Substitutions: Blackstenius for Janogy (46′), Rolfo for Hurtig (71′), Kullashi for Zigiotti Olme (82′)
vs. Hungary (4-Oct-2019) (Twitter)
Lindahl
Glas – Sembrant – Eriksson – Andersson
Zigiotti Olme – Asllani – Bjorn
Jakobsson – Blackstenius – Janogy
Substitutions: Rolfo for Janogy (62′), Hurtig for Blackstenius (73′), Kullashi for Asllani (82′)
vs. Latvia (03-Sep-2019) (Twitter)
Lindahl
Glas – Ilestedt –Sembrant – Eriksson
Rubensson – Seger – Asllani
Jakobsson – Anvegard – Hurtig
Substitutions: Janogy for Hurtig (57′), Blackstenius for Rubensson (67′) Blomqvist for Anvegard (78′)
With Sembrant’s absence, it’s unclear who Eriksson’s centerback partner will be. Uncapped Emma Kullberg could be one option, although she primarily plays as a midfielder (mittbacken)for her club teams. Perhaps, a more likely option would be sliding Björn, who is listed as a defender, back to the centerback spot, and bringing in another defensive midfielder.
See Also: October 2019 Roster Round-Up, which briefly discussed Sweden’s roster for the October international window.
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