Sweden comes to France having qualified for every FIFA Women’s World Cup, since its beginning in 1991. While The Blue and Yellow have yet to be World Cup champions, they have come in third twice; once in 1991 and once in 2011.

Since 2003, Sweden has been in the same Group stage as the U.S, who maintains a 2-1-1 record over Sweden. Also in Group F are the U.S, Chile, and Thailand. Chile will be participating in the World Cup for the first time while Thailand will mark their second World Cup appearance.

Sweden’s head coach Peter Gerhardsson has been in charge a little over a year after taking over for Pia Sundhage, who previously coached the USWNT in the 2008 and 2012 Olympics to become gold medalists. Since taking over as head coach, Gerhardsson has brought about new tactics for the Swedes, taking from his previous experience as a forward on several professional club teams in Sweden. One of his tactics has the team focusing on their structure on offense, leading up to the penalty box.

Under Gerhardsson’s leadership, Sweden has a game record of 1-1-4 (wins, ties, losses) for their 2019 Friendlies and currently stand in ninth place of FIFA rankings.

Players To Watch

Midfielder Caroline Seger, team captain is a player to watch, has represented Sweden at a national level for the past 10 years and this upcoming tournament marks her fourth World Cup.

“We have very quick players in attack and we can be lethal on the break,” Seger said in an interview with FIFA.com. “However, I hope we can see a different Sweden from previous World Cups. By that I mean a team that can dominate possession and control the game, and not just one that can defend and do well on the counterattack. I hope we’ll also be good in possession at this World Cup.”

Forward Stina Blackstenius is another player to watch. During the 2016 Olympics she scored in the gold-metal match that lead to Sweden earning a silver medal. The 23-year-old has made 26 caps at the senior national level where she has scored five goals. Although the experienced forward has played at the youth levels for Sweden, this will be her first appearance in a World Cup for her country.

Sweden will see their first match of the tournament on June 11 as they compete against Chile at 9am PST.