It was already clear on Friday that Sweden would not advance to the quarter-finals. The worst World Cup performance in ten years was a fact.
Therefore, the final match in the middle round was of little sporting importance. The attitude and sharpness were accordingly.
When asked what went wrong, veteran Jamina Roberts answers:
That's most of it. 26 goals behind isn't super bad, but we should be able to close better. 24 goals ahead is simply too bad.
No worthy ending
We wanted to end this with some kind of dignity but we didn't succeed, Roberts tells Viaplay.
She saw the total Swedish effort in the World Cup:
We are uncertain at the back, we are unclear towards each other and we are very untimely going forward. We all have a responsibility in this. The coaches can't do much about us turning the (opponent's) goalkeeper into the man of the match. It is a collective responsibility. We have had the whole autumn to prepare but we haven't succeeded. And I myself haven't been good.
Roberts makes it clear that the World Cup exit is not synonymous with her playing her last international match.
She has not made any decisions about her future.
Now it's time to go home and celebrate Christmas and then we'll see if we get called up again, she tells Viaplay.
“Has not performed”
National team captain Tomas Axnér notes that the loss against Angola was confirmation that the World Cup was not Sweden's tournament.
"We haven't performed in this tournament. We went with the 16 players we thought were the best. We are fully aware that at some point we need to rejuvenate this team. We need to make changes and a fresh start. It will happen bit by bit," says Axnér.
