Before his first squad presentation, Tony Gustavsson has been in England and met the national team captain Kosovare Asllani – who is noted for 203 international matches and 50 goals – in her club team environment in London City.
I was incredibly happy when I heard that she wanted to be part of this Nations League trip, says Gustavsson when he released the squad for the semifinals against Spain.
"Completely incredible"
When London City won the second league in England last season, Asllani was the key player. Now Gustavsson is impressed by the 36-year-old's performance in the Super League.
If you have watched the matches, it's completely incredible. She continues to run the most in the team. Presses the hardest, runs deep. No problems at all with the tempo when they enter the top league, he says and continues:
It feels super fun to have "Kosse" with us and I experience that she is hungry too.
Asllani has played for Sweden in eleven international championships, but if she is also relevant for championships in the future, there is still no message about it.
Qualifying for the World Championship 2027 in Brazil begins at the beginning of next year.
We only focus on the Nations League, then we park such discussions for the future, says Gustavsson.
AIK's Linda Sembrant – 158 international matches – is also selected. Gustavsson does not want to talk about details from his conversations with the two veterans, but is happy that they said yes.
They have been incredibly positive, constructive conversations that have helped me a lot in my preparations for the first gathering, which has also helped me understand where they are in their careers.
I think that both have enormous qualities to contribute and therefore are selected.
Schröder selected
He also picked out the super talent Felicia Schröder, Häcken. The 18-year-old goal queen has scored 27 goals in the women's all-Swedish league, but was rejected for the summer's European Championship squad by the then national team coach Peter Gerhardsson.
In total, there are seven new names in the squad compared to the European Championship in Switzerland where Sweden was eliminated in the quarterfinals after a loss on penalties against the future European champion England.
Sweden plays away against Spain on October 24 and at home at Gamla Ullevi in Gothenburg on October 28.
In the other semifinal, Germany and France meet. The final and the match for third place – also double matches – are played in November.
Corrected version: In an earlier broadcast version, an error was stated regarding how many players are new in the squad compared to the European Championship squad. It should be seven.
Lasse Mannheimer/TT
Daniel Kihlström/TT
Facts: Nations League squad
TT
Goalkeepers: Tove Enblom, Vålerenga, Jennifer Falk, Häcken, Moa Öhman, Malmö FF.
Defenders: Nathalie Björn, Chelsea, Magdalena Eriksson, Bayern München, Smilla Holmberg, Hammarby, Amanda Ilestedt, Eintracht Frankfurt, Elma Junttila Nelhage, Lyon, Hanna Lundkvist, San Diego, Anna Sandberg, Manchester United, Linda Sembrant, AIK.
Midfielders/forwards: Filippa Angeldahl, Real Madrid, Kosovare Asllani, London City, Hanna Bennison, Real Madrid, Stina Blackstenius, Arsenal, Rebecka Blomqvist, Eintracht Frankfurt, Evelyn Ijeh, Milan, Monica Jusu Bah, Häcken, Rosa Kafaji, Brighton, Fridolina Rolfö, Manchester United, Johanna Rytting Kaneryd, Chelsea, Felicia Schröder, Häcken, Julia Zigiotti Olme, Bayern München.
