Chelsea stars Nathalie Björn and Erin Cuthbert were already making headlines ahead of their respective national teams’ second matches in the World Cup play-offs. Sweden beat Lithuania 5-0 away on Friday, while Scotland beat the Czech Republic 2-0.
"She got her first minutes, so I congratulated her on that. She said congratulations on my first minutes, so it was just love," says Björn, who returned to the national team this season after a long injury layoff.
“Getting into a fight”
When Sweden and Scotland meet in December in a decisive play-off for a place at next summer’s World Cup in Brazil, things will be different.
There will be no love at all. Then there will be a fight. But it’s fun. She’s a real fighter, says Björn.
Eighth-ranked Sweden advanced with a 15-0 aggregate win over Lithuania, ranked 94th in the world. Scotland, ranked 25th, beat the Czech Republic 5-2 on aggregate.
"It’s physical, physical, physical," says Björn of Scotland’s style of play.
The big victory against Lithuania gives us a lot of confidence, but we must not let it go to our heads.
We understand that the next team we face is really a step up, says Björn.
Midfielder Filippa Angeldahl agrees.
"It will be much tougher than these matches. We really need to get up to speed," she says.
Sweden head coach Tony Gustavsson said:
We should not overestimate these gains in any way, but we should not underestimate it when we do something good either.
“Match within the match”
Melissa Andreatta is Scotland’s head coach. When Gustavsson coached Australia’s women’s national team (2020–2024), Andreatta was an assistant.
"If there’s any coach who knows me inside and out, it’s her. So it’s going to be a match within a match," says Tony Gustavsson.
The first match against Scotland will be played away on December 1. The return leg will be played on December 5 at 3 Arena in Stockholm.
