Despite first-team nerves, Sweden was able to take a clear victory in the match against the Czech Republic.
"It was fun. It was really nice to win in the end, it was very important for us," says middle schooler Jenny Carlson to Viaplay.
At halftime, the Swedes led 17–13 and despite some mistakes and carelessness, had a stable lead. But at the beginning of the second half, Sweden failed to score for almost eight minutes and the Czech Republic was able to reduce to 17–16.
Soon, however, the roles were reversed when Sweden started scoring goals and the Czech Republic failed to find the net for over nine minutes.
It feels like they're constantly scoring when we miss or she (Czech Republic goalkeeper Sabrina Novotna) makes good saves, we'll have to go home and evaluate that, but overall I think it's pretty stable. Even if it's only one or two balls apart, I don't feel really stressed, actually, says midfielder Emma Lindqvist after the match.
The victory means that Sweden extends its streak of never losing to the Czech Republic.
"I think the answer I got was that we play aggressive attacking play, good goalkeeping, and sometimes we score well on our counterattacks. We had opportunities to score more goals, then it might have been a calmer trip, but it was a good match to have," says national team captain Tomas Axnér.
Next, Sweden plays against Cuba on Saturday at 8:30 PM.
