Skipper Kosovare Asllani believes underdog perception ‘suits’ Sweden

Sweden captain Kosovare Asllani believes “people should talk about us more” ahead of Thursday’s quarter-final clash with England.

A spot in the final four of Euro 2025 is at stake when the teams meet at Stadion Letzigrund.

Sweden earned their place in the quarter-finals after finishing top of Group C with three wins from as many games, including a thumping 4-1 victory over Germany in their last group match.

The Scandinavians have progressed deep in their last two major tournaments, finishing third at the 2023 World Cup and reaching the semi-finals at Euro 2022 – where they were knocked out by the Lionesses – but Asllani believes their perception as underdogs can be beneficial.

“People rarely speak of us as a team that can win the tournament so we’re flying under the radar,” she said in quotes reported on UEFA’s website.

“That suits us a little. We know that we can beat any team in the world when we’re at our best. People should talk about us more.”

Asllani is relishing competing in the knockout stages, telling a press conference: “It feels like the tournament really gets going once the group stage is over.

“We have experience in these kind of matches and it is a little bit like the fun starts now when you test your mettle against the best teams. It’s just a longing for the game to start now.

“It’s going to be an incredibly tough match but I do think we’re fairly evenly matched. You can tell that from the last two games against England, two draws.”

Sweden were beaten 4-0 by England in the semi-finals of Euro 2022, but Asllani admitted it is not a result she has dwelt on having met the Lionesses since then, drawing twice in qualifiers for this tournament.

She said: “I haven’t thought about that match at all to be honest with you. What is most recent in my mind are the two most recent matches against England, two draws, and since then a lot of things have happened.

“We’ve played a number of matches after that against other teams and that is what you need to focus on. Of course, it’s not as if I’ve completely forgotten that match, but it’s not something that I dwell on.

“For my own part, I’m just longing for this game to start and start it with the attitude of ‘yes, we’re going to win this match’.”

Lauren James has been one of the key performers for England, where arguably her best outing at the tournament saw her score twice against the Netherlands, and Sweden boss Peter Gerhardsson was full of praise for the Chelsea forward’s skill.

He said: “I like that kind of player because she has something special, movement and things like that, but she’s doing the things she thinks, right on the pitch.

“As a coach, sometimes, you want structure, ‘do that, do that’ but I think James, even if she listens to the coach, she makes her own decisions on the pitch.

“And every coach likes that kind of player. But I hope we can handle it tomorrow.”