A normal year would have had Anna Sandberg mourning the rejection from the European Championship squad. But the summer of 2025 had her dealing with real sorrow.
In the spring, the Swedish national team defender found out that her mother Gunilla had been diagnosed with cancer. At the end of July, Gunilla, 62 years old, passed away.
I'm really glad there was no European Championship this summer. Because then I got a lot of time with mom, says Anna Sandberg.
Strong season start
She is back in the national team after a troubled last season with a lot of injury problems and where she got limited playing time in her new club team Manchester United. This fall, the 22-year-old left-back has started brilliantly and when the new national team coach Tony Gustavsson last week presented his first national team squad - for this week's Nations League semifinal against Spain - he highlighted Sandberg as Sweden's most in-form player.
She has looked incredibly lively. I went and saw them live in Manchester and she was really good. She also made an incredibly nice goal. She shows evidence of an offensive attitude but also an aggressive defensive game, said Gustavsson.
That goal was special, says Anna Sandberg. Not just because she rarely scores goals.
Mom always said "Shoot more!", because she knew I can shoot, says Sandberg.
I dedicated the goal to mom. I feel like I'm fighting for mom's sake and I know how proud she is. It meant a lot to me to make that goal. I feel like she's with me, she gives me energy and pushes me with two hands in the back.
Support from teammate
Everyday life is still tough to handle, she says. In Manchester United, she has found support among other things with teammate Ella Toone, whose dad passed away from cancer last fall.
I actually don't know what I would have done without football right now. I don't think I could have been in a better place than United, they have handled it incredibly well and I have fantastic coaches and teammates. It makes me able to go through it in a fairly good way, says Anna Sandberg.
She has six A-international matches so far. The seventh may come in Friday's Nations League match against Spain, the first semifinal in a best-of-two (the return match is played in Gothenburg on Tuesday).
That I'm here today would have had mom dancing her happy dance for. I know she's incredibly proud. It's a driving force for me, to continue making her proud.
