After 0–4 against Spain on Friday, Swedish national team captain Tony Gustavsson has announced that there will be several changes in the Swedish starting lineup.
Partly to give the slightly younger players a chance, partly to bet even more on speed – a description that fits perfectly with 19-year-old Hammarby defender Smilla Holmberg.
She has looked great in training and also made a lively substitution on Friday. And here at home and in the start of the match, we will need an enormous amount of power, energy and pressure in things and really go "all in", summarizes Tony Gustavsson.
Played European Championship
Holmberg has played only six international matches before tonight's Nations League return match.
But the acclaimed Hammarby talent has already been given several chances from the start – including against Germany during the European Championship in the summer. Now it seems to be another starting spot tonight.
It's super fun, as a football player I always want to play a lot, says the 19-year-old.
To have the honor of playing a match against the world's number one and the best players in Europe is great fun.
”Moved on”
The task that the Hammarby defender and her teammates face at Gamla Ullevi in Gothenburg tonight is, however, of the more difficult kind.
After the loss on Friday, at least five goals are required to knock out Spain, which reached the European Championship final in the summer and is both reigning world champion and world number one.
It feels like we have moved on from that match. We will go out and know that we have everything to win, says Smilla Holmberg.
We will play with a lot of speed, believe in it and show who Sweden is and what we can do.
