Rennes, France- Sweden scored two goals within the last seven minutes of the match to come out on top against Chile, who stepped onto the field for their first ever Women’s World Cup performance .
“I think it was a really tough game for our team. We’ve been following Sweden as an opponent,” said Chile head coach Jose Letelier. “We’ve looked at our physical fitness and this has been quite complex for our team. This created a difference between the teams and we’ve really had to look at all types of situations. Our players gave their all throughout the entire game. Of course, it was a difficult game and unfortunately, during the last 10 minutes the result changed.”
Sweden showed no mercy to La Roja Feminina as they put Chile goalkeeper Claudia Endler to the test early on during a corner kick where Sweden defender Linda Sembrant made an attempt with a header that Endler deflected.
Within the first 45 minutes of the match, Chile had 70 opportunities where the ball was lost in their possession. Sweden saw this weakness and used it to dominate the match in high-pace play, hoping to tire out the opposing team.
Minutes into the start of the second half, the match was put on hold due to a thunderstorm, which gave a much needed break for both sides to refocus on the physical and mental aspect of the game with their team and coaches.
Chile was once again under attack when the match resumed, but despite the challenges, Endler was ready to stand her ground. With 10 minutes left, Sweden got their break in the 83’ minute as Kosovare Asllani made her first touch on the open ball and sent it to the back of the net to give Sweden a 1-0 lead.
Several minutes later, six minutes of stoppage time was added and before the whistle blew, Sweden came through with another play to capitalize on their lead.
Midfielder Madelen Janogy cut the ball past Chile’s defense using her left foot to send the ball to the goal. As it brushed against the fingertips of Endler’s gloves, Sweden celebrated their 2-0 lead with two minutes left to spare.
“We’ve been following Chile for many matches now and there are some very skilled players, not least their goalkeeper, so we knew this would be a tough match,” Sweden head coach Peter Gerhardsson said. “They never constructed much play so we knew this would be a tough match. They’re a tactically skilled team and we’re very happy that we won.”
Despite the late goal action, Sweden earned all three points from their first match and will face Thailand on Sunday, June 16 at 6 a.m. PST.
SCORING SUMMARY:
SWE-Kosovare Asllani, 83’
SWE-Madelen Janogy, 90 +4’
BOOKING SUMMARY:
SWE-Magdalena Eriksson, 67’ yellow card
CHI-Carla Guerrero, 78’ yellow card
CHI-Yssenia Lopez, 90 +6’ yellow card
SWEDEN: #-Hedvig Lindahl, #3-Linda Sembrant, #4-Hanna Glas, #5-Nilla Fischer, #6-Mgdalena Eriksson, #9-Kosovare Asllani, #10-Sofia Jakobsson, #11-Stina Blackstenius (#19-Anna Anvegard, 65’), #17-Caroline Seger, #18-Fridolina Rolfo (#8-Lina Hurtig, 65’), #23-Elin Rubensson (#7-Madelen Janogy, 81’)
Subs not used: #2-Jonna Andersson, #12-Jennifer Falk, #13-Amanda Ilestedt, #14-Julia Roddar, #15-Nathalie Bjorn, #16-Julia Zigiotti, #20-Mimmi Larsson, #21-Zecira Musovic, #22-Olivia Schough
CHILE: #1-Claudia Endler, #3-Carla Guerrero, #4-Francisca Lara, #8-Karen Araya, #9-Maria Urrutia (#11-Yessenia Lopez, 59’), #10-Yanara Aedo (#2-Rocio Soto, 84’), #15-Su Helen Galaz, #17-Javiera Toro, #18-Camila Saez, #20-Daniela Zamora, #21-Rosario Balmaceda
Subs not used: #5-Valentina Diaz, #6-Claudia Soto, #7-Maria Jose Rojas, #12-Natalia Campos, #13-Javiera Grez, #14-Daniela Pardo, #16-Fernanda Pinilla, #19-Yessenia Huenteo, #22-Elisa Duran, #23-Ryan Torrero
TOTAL SHOTS: SWE 25-6 CHI
SHOTS ON GOAL: SWE 7-1 CHI
OFFSIDES: SWE 3-1 CHI
CORNERS: SWE 11-0 CHI
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Women's World Cup
