Side by side, with the Swedish national anthem booming from the speakers. Nathalie Björn, Julia Zigiotti Olme, Filippa Angeldahl and Johanna Rytting Kaneryd have during the European Championship experienced something they have always dreamed of, but had difficulty believing in.
To be jointly selected in a Swedish starting eleven in a major championship. The quartet of friends played from the start against both Denmark and Poland.
We said it on the "lineup", because then we were all in order too. To sometimes just stop and enjoy the situation we are in. We are absolutely the closest friends and get to experience this together. Sometimes you just have to pinch yourself and think "is this true?", says striker Johanna Rytting Kaneryd.
Friends since childhood
Defender Nathalie Björn admits that the shared dream has been almost utopian.
Everyone was aiming for the A national team. But to also get to go into a championship together, I don't think anyone had thought, says Björn.
It's something you've dreamed of. It's really cool to get to experience it together, says midfielder Julia Zigiotti Olme.
Björn and Angeldahl have known each other since they were five years old and grew up in Uppsala. Later, they ended up in the same school as Julia Zigiotti Olme, with Bollstanäs as their home club. Johanna Rytting Kaneryd, from Kolsva in Västmanland, joined the group after she and Angeldahl were at the same national team camp at the age of 15-16.
I don't think I understand the luxury I have. To be able to travel here with people I've known for so long. And with Filippa, who I grew up with. It's absolutely fantastic that we get to make this journey together, says Björn.
"Incredible luck"
The group of friends also includes striker Stina Blackstenius, who was part of the team that won the F19 European Championship together with Zigiotti Olme, Björn and Angeldahl in 2015.
They are my absolute closest friends. To get to be at a championship with them and do this together feels like incredible luck, says Rytting Kaneryd.
Midfielder Filippa Angeldahl agrees with everything her friends say. She also sees the bond of friendship as a strength on the pitch.
It's incredibly fun. We are best friends and love to hang out with each other. We also take that with us onto the pitch, that we know each other inside and out and know each other's qualities, says Angeldahl.
Perhaps it's even thanks to the friendship that they now stand together in a Swedish European Championship eleven.
Everyone's journeys have been different, but we've always had the same goal and have always been there for each other. It's always been a security to know that we're there for each other, says Angeldahl.
