Sweden has played a secret rehearsal before the World Cup.
Then Stina Blackstenius showed super form – and is now widely praised.
– She is very important, says Magdalena Eriksson to SVT.
WC week is finally here. On Sunday, Sweden steps into the tournament as South Africa awaits on Sunday. And there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with form, at least not for one of the stars, in the form of Stina Blackstenius.
Won the genre rope
During the night of Sunday, Swedish time, Sweden had a secret match against another World Cup team, the Philippines, which took place completely without an audience, and without any cameras, on directives from Fifa. The match was played in 3 halves of 30 minutes each, and Sweden ended up winning 5-1.
Stina Blackstenius became the big hero in the training match when she accounted for a total of three goals. Scorers for Sweden were also Fridolina Rolfö and Johanna Rytting Kaneryd, but in retrospect it was Blackstenius who was praised by his teammates.
– She sets the tone and is very important to us, says Magdalena Eriksson to SVT.
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Highly praised
That Sweden’s offense works is an absolute necessity if they are to go far in the WC, and that Blackstenius seems to enter the tournament in top form is important.
– I think she looks very hot and creates many chances, she is a constant threat. Then it is a good sign for us in our offensive game that we manage to come up with many dangerous chances, says Magdalena Eriksson.
Only three players in the Swedish squad were without playing time in the match, and national team captain Peter Gerhardsson was satisfied with what he saw in the general rep.
– Of course, it is always important and nice to win football matches, and it is also good that we had the opportunity to give playing time to large parts of the squad. Now we take this effort with us and continue to prepare in the best possible way towards the World Cup opener against South Africa on Sunday, he says.
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