The medals speak for new Swedish player roulette

Common to when Sweden won WC bronze in 2019 and Olympic silver in 2021 was that they had already secured promotion from the group after two matches. And that both times they chose to rest large parts of the regular starting eleven in the last group stage match.

Now the opportunity exists again. After the 5-0 victory against Italy last time, Sweden is already ready for the round of 16. It will be played in Melbourne or Sydney just four days after Wednesday’s group stage final against Argentina in Hamilton.

So what do national team captain Peter Gerhardsson and assistant Magnus Wikman think?

— Sunday’s match will be priority one. We have talked in the same way as during the World Cup (2019), that there is a round of 16 final and that it could be 120 minutes there (ordinary time plus additional time), says Wikman about the round of 16 final.

Several need playing time

In the World Cup four years ago, Sweden replaced seven players for the final group stage match against the USA. In the 2021 Olympics, a total of eight players were rested against New Zealand. Considering the outcome, the double medals, it shouldn’t be something to think about, should it?

— It was a success in that we won the round of 16 and quarter-finals in those championships. So I hope we thought right then, says Wikman.

— For us, it is probably most important that we get more and more players going. After all, we have chosen to take out some players who have not played much in the spring due to injuries or that their season ended early, so that has meant that we may also need to play some players a little more in order for them to enter the.

Caroline Seger, Lina Hurtig and Sofia Jakobsson are all players who fit the description above and who have started on the bench in Sweden’s two previous WC matches. But even starters such as Kosovare Asllani, Fridolina Rolfö and Elin Rubensson have missed games this year due to injuries, and may therefore be in need of more playing time.

The players want to play

However, asking the players about it is almost pointless. Try to get someone to say “I’d be happy to stand over a World Cup match” and you’re doomed to fail.

— As a player, you always want to be on the field, that’s the absolute most fun. Then you have full understanding that Peter makes those decisions if he sees it as the best for the continuation of the tournament, says Stina Blackstenius.

Nor does Fridolina Rolfö express any desire to rest, even though she has been open about the fact that she has a bad knee that partially inhibits her.

— I will do everything I can to recover and be ready for that match, then it’s up to Peter what he decides, says Rolfö.

Kosovar Asllani also leaves the team selection to the national team captain. But she admits that it has been successful to rest players in previous championships.

— A championship can be a long way. It is always a coach’s choice how he wants to pattern the team, but certainly, saving some energy in the group stage if you are already qualified is one way to go. We have very good players who are ready to jump in, who are of high quality. So I wouldn’t be worried at all. If we rotate, we will still have high-class players coming in, says Asllani.

Longer perspective

Magnus Wikman knows exactly how the players reason. But it is up to him to have the longer term perspective. He has to consider that there is a short rest until the round of 16, and that Sweden is forced to switch countries from New Zealand to Australia.

— The players certainly want to play, but then they should know that a few days later, with a trip to another country and with a time difference, they should be able to perform for maybe 120 minutes, says Wikman.

— We will need everyone. Now we have played the same eleven from the start in two games, but it is not the case that the eleven will start all the games.