One by one they have said goodbye in recent years. First it was Hedvig Lindahl and Nilla Fischer, then Caroline Seger. And in recent weeks both Magdalena Eriksson and Linda Sembrant – two more players who for a long time formed the backbone of the Swedish women's national football team – have announced that their blue and yellow careers are over.
After Friday's 1-2 away loss to France in the Nations League bronze medal match (return in Stockholm on Tuesday), it was as if Kosovare Asllani looked around and suddenly noted: Where did all my teammates go?
"The generational change is already here. It's just me who's left, I guess," says the 36-year-old midfield veteran after his 206th senior international.
Affected by the dropout
The beauty of the story is that all the dropouts have made Asllani think twice. Because if she was previously hesitant about continuing in the national team after the Nations League playoffs, she now seems to feel an obligation to continue playing.
Yes, I'm the kind of person who likes to help and take responsibility. And it does affect a little that many mainstays have left. That's where I feel like I want to be there and help the team build on. Until they're ready to take over, so to speak.
It's not an unusual position for Asllani, who made her national team debut in the fall of 2008. In recent years, she has chosen to go to clubs such as Spanish Tacón (later Real Madrid) and English London City, when the teams had just begun a major investment and where she was recruited as one of the stars who would help an otherwise young team move forward.
Best in the entire league
The situation in the national team is very reminiscent of those experiences, she says.
Yes, it's very similar, really. I'm used to this role and know what it's like to help players into a new game system. Now there have been an incredible number of changes here and I feel a great responsibility to help the team. Because I have such an incredible heart for this national team. It's hard to leave when you feel like you can help set the framework.
Of course, it helps that she is in great form. Asllani's London City are having success as newcomers in the English Super League, and she herself is the player who has created the most goal chances in the entire league so far.
I'm still alert and alert. It feels really good. I play in the best league in the world and I'm the one who has created the most chances out of everyone in the entire league. That says something too.
Lasse Mannheimer/TT
Facts: The players with the most international caps
TT
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Caroline Seger: 240.
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Therese Sjögran: 214.
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Kosovare Asllani: 206.
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Hedvig Lindahl: 189.
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Nilla Fischer: 189.
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Lotta Schelin: 185.
Source: Swedish Football Association.
