In 2013, a mere eight days before Hope Powell took England into what would be her last major tournament in charge of the side, the writing may already have been on the wall when Pia Sundhage’s Sweden — the hosts of Euro 2013 — beat the Lionesses, 4-1, in Uddevalla.
One year on and much had changed, former Bristol Academy boss Mark Sampson was now in charge and on a sunny Sunday afternoon in Hartlepool, the Lionesses reversed the result and beat Sundhage’s side, 4-0.
Eight of the England players who started that day could face Sweden again tomorrow, with Fran Kirby and Karen Bardsley only absent due to injury. For the Swedes, Caroline Seger and Lotta Schelin were influential in the 2013 hammering and they’re also expected to play a large part when the sides meet for the first time in more than three years at the Pinatar Arena on Tuesday.
It’s not just the remaining key players and managers the two nations have in common, both Sampson and Sundhage looked on as their relative sides fell to Norway earlier in the camp — new coach Martin Sjogren has already got one over on two of his closest rivals.
Manchester City’s Demi Stokes was one of England’s better performers in Sunday night’s 1-0 defeat in La Manga and the left back is expecting a different type of game on Tuesday night.
“We’re a team that wants to be on the front foot and we want to be attacking,” said Stokes.
And England might have a chance to show that against the Swedes. A 5-1 hammering at the hands of hosts Brazil was no way for the Swedes to start their Olympic campaign last year and by the time the two met again in the semifinals, U.S. goalkeeper Hope Solo had already labeled them cowards for their defensive display against the world champions.
“It’s always a bit easier if a team wants to sit back against you but it’s about what you do with that ball and how you decide to use it. But if Sweden decide to be a bit more defensive it could play into our hands,” said Stokes.
Emerging Star
While Sweden’s game plan was raising all the headlines thanks to Solo’s comments, a new star was emerging in the shape of striker Stina Blackstenius.
Already penciled in to travel to Papua New Guinea for the U-20 World Cup at the end of 2016, Blackstenius’s form for then club Linköpings FC and her first international goal in April saw her picked to travel to Rio by Sundhage.
The story wouldn’t end there; introduced as a second-half substitute in the quarterfinal encounter with the U.S., Blackstenius put Sweden in front with half an hour to go. If that wasn’t enough, the 20-year-old then brought Sweden back into the gold medal match after the eventual champions had taken a 2-0 lead.
“It’s been an amazing year for me,” said Blackstenius. “I competed at a World Cup as well as the Olympics — I’m just really proud of what I’ve achieved.”
Blackstenius was introduced as a second-half substitute in Thursday night’s 1-2 loss against Norway in a rearranged match at La Manga and could be in line to start against England if Sundhage shuffles her pack.
Either way, Blackstenius is expecting a tough encounter.
“It doesn’t feel good to start with a loss but there’s a lot of things we can take forward and change,” she said.
“The feeling is it’s going to be a fun game against England, they have some very good individuals and we’re looking forward to facing them.”