Algarve Cup: Sweden clinch third place

Sweden - France 1-0 (0-0)
Sweden: Hedvig Lindahl Linköping FC - Frida Östberg Linköping FC, Hanna Marklund Sunnanå SK, Stina Segerström KIF Örebro, Maria Bergkvist Umeå IK - Linda Fagerström Djurgården/Älvsjö, Therese Sjögren Malmö FF, Malin Moström Umeå IK (62 Caroline Seger Linköping FC), Lotta Schelin Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC - Victoria Svensson Djurgården/Älvsjö (62 Salina Ohlsson Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC), Hanna Ljungberg Umeå IK (75 Anna Sjöström Umeå IK).
Goals: 1-0 Lotta Schelin (51)
"We're playing better and better for each match", commented Thomas Dennerby after the bronze match against France. The defense was efficient and disciplined and the midfield play showed a good passing play, which has been one of the weaknesses in the earlier matches. France had problems getting any real foothold at the Swedish part of the field and often had to relent to chasing the long ball. After Sweden took the lead in the second half - nicely executed by Lotta Schelin after a Malin Moström pass put her almost alone with the french goalie - the French side began to show an increasingly bad temper. Four of the five yellows in the match were for protesting against the referee.

Towards the end of the game Hanna Ljungberg was hurt badly in a collision with the French goalkeeper Sarah Bouhaddi. Ljungberg came running after a long ball towards the french goal and headed the ball, while Bouhaddi came in late and headed the Swedish striker in the face. The bleeding Ljungberg was taken off the field and to a nearby hospital while Bouhaddi recieved a red card for reckless play. Late news from the hospital says that Hanna Ljungberg did not suffer any broken bones, which had been a concern initially, and will probably be back on the field within short.

Västerbottenskuriren:
Ljungberg förd till sjukhus
Aftonbladet: Ljungberg knockad – akut till sjukhus
Expressen: Ljungberg knockad blodig - förd till sjukhus
Dagens Nyheter: Ny undersökning av Ljungberg i morgon
SVT: Hanna Ljungberg till sjukhus

Other matches
Norway defeats China 1-0, finishing 5th in the tournament, with both Bente Nordby (Djurgården/Älvsjö) and Lise Klaveness (Umeå) playing the full 90. Finland defeat Mexico 4-3 in the 7th place match with four Damallsvenskan goals: Laura Kalmari (Djurgården/Älvsjö) scoring 2 and Anna-Kaisa Rantanen (Linköping) and Anne Mäkinen (Umeå) 1 each. So far unlucky Denmark had no problems with Ireland, winning 4-0, with Djurgården's Katrine Pedersen and Dorte Dalum Jensen playing the full match.

Algarve Cup: Goals at last

Sweden - Finland 4-1 (1-0)
Sweden: Caroline Jönsson Malmö FF - Sara Larsson Linköping FC (76 Maria Bergkvist Umeå IK), Hanna Marklund Sunnanå SK, Karolina Westberg Umeå IK, Caroline Näfver KIF Örebro - Anna Sjöström Umeå IK, Caroline Seger Linköping FC (62 Therese Sjögran Malmö FF), Malin Moström Umeå IK (82 Frida Östberg LInköping FC), Linda Fagerström Djurgården/Älvsjö - Therese Lundin Malmö FF (62 Salina Olsson Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC), Victoria Svensson Djurgården/Älvsjö.
Goals: 1-0 Victoria Svensson (25), 2-0 Victoria Svensson (51), 2-1 Sanna Valkonen (65 PK), 3-1 Malin Moström (70), 4-1 Victoria Svensson (85)
After two goalless preformances, Sweden, and more precisely Victoria Svensson, finally found the goal. Finland is the weakest team in the group, and used to losing to Sweden, but most important for the Swedish victory was that the team is beginning to play better football. Faster, more creative, better passing. And Victoria Svensson in great form.
Finland used their most Swedish line-up så far with Sanna Valkonen (Umeå IK), Anna-Kaisa Rantanen (Linköping FC), Anne Mäkinen (Umeå IK), Jessica Julin (Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC), Minna Mustonen (Bälinge) and Laura Kalmari (Djurgården/Älvsjö)
Damfotboll.com:
Hat-trick av "Vickan" mot Finland

Other matches
Another big loss for Denmark, this time 0-6 against China. Djurgården's Katrine Pedersen and Dorte Dalum Jensen came on at half-time, when the score was 0-4, but couldn't change Denmark's fate. Norway, Umeå's Lise Klaveness playing 82 minutes, almost managed to snatch a point from Germany, but was defeated by an extratime goal.

Algarve Cup: Another defeat to Germany

Sweden - Germany 0-3 (0-1)
Sweden: Hedvig Lindahl - Frida Östberg, Hanna Marklund, Stina Segerström (43 red-carded), Maria Bergkvist - Anna Sjöström (68 Victoria Svensson), Malin Moström, Therese Sjögren (76 Linda Fagerström), Lotta Schelin (46 Sara Larsson) - Therese Lundin, Hanna Ljungberg (79 Caroline Seger).
A really good Swedish first half - having Marklund, Moström and Ljungberg as starters this time really made a difference - ended with a dubious handball call, which gave Stina Segerström her second yellow and Gernamy a penalty kick. Coach Dennerby opted to keep both forwards, which made the Swedish midfield out-numbered by the Germans. Germany had their usual nice flow in the attack, dominated midfield and had Sweden on the defense most of the time. Coach Dennerby was less than pleased with the referee team, that except for the penalty also gave a lot of unjustified free kicks.

Aftonbladet:
Domartabbe början till det svenska fallet
Damfotboll.com: 0-3 för Sverige med tio spelare mot Tyskland

Other matches
The Scandinavian goal draught continued in the Norway - Finland match, that ended 0-0. Lise Klaveness (Umeå) played the last half for Norway, while the Finnish team as usual relied on a lot of Damallsvenskan players; Umeå's Sanna Valkonen and Anne Mäkinen played the whole match, Anna-Kaisa Rantanen (Linköping) the first half, Djurgården's Laura Kalmari was subbed out in the dieing minutes of the match and Minna Mustonen (Bälinge) got 30 second half minutes. Denmark went down big to USA, losing 5-0. Katrine Pedersen and Dorte Dalum Jensen (both Djurgården/Älvsjö) played the full match and were among the few that played both the France and USA matches.

Algarve Cup: Dull draw against Norway

Sweden - Norway 0-0 (0-0)
Sweden: Caroline Jönsson Malmö FF - Frida Östberg Linköping FC, Sara Larsson Linköping FC, Karolina Westberg Umeå IK, Caroline Näfver KIF Örebro (72 Maria Bergkvist Umeå IK) - Johanna Almgren Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC (50 Hanna Ljungberg Umeå IK), Salina Ohlsson Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC (62 Therese Sjögran Malmö FF), Caroline Seger Linköping FC (46 Malin Moström Umeå IK), Linda Fagerström Djurgården/Älvsjö - Victoria Svensson Djurgården/Älvsjö, Lotta Schelin Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC (68 Anna Sjöström Umeå IK)

Not exactly the starting line-up you would choose if you wanted to defeat Norway, somebody pointed out. But Thomas Dennerby has been clear about his plans; everybody on the squad will start at least once and he will try different combinations of players on the field.

This time, the result of Dennerby's experimenting was mainly disappointing. Disorganized defense, slow and tired looking midfield (reports says Seger was just recovering from a cold) and a lack of quality both delivering and recieving passes. Only quality performance in the first half was from goalkeeper Caroline Jönsson, showing stability and confidence. Things shaped up a bit in the second half, when players like Malin Moström, Hanna Ljungberg and Therese Sjögran was subbed in. Still, a fairly mediocre performance from both sides.

For Norway Djurgården/Älvsjö's Bente Nordby was reliable in goal, putting in a few good-looking saves, and Umeå's Lise Klaveness subbed in after 69 minutes.
Svensk Fotboll:
Mållöst mot Norge - Schelin närmast att näta
Damfotboll.com: Första mål vi väntar på, Sverige, Sverige, Sverige...
Sydsvenskan: Godkänd svenskstart i Algarve Cup

Other Thursday games:
Finland managed to hold back Germany for 60 minutes, but after that it went fast and 5-0 for Germany was probably a little bit to much if you look at the game as a whole. Sanna Valkonen and Anne Mäkinen (Umeå), Minna Mustonen (Bälinge), Anna-Kaisa Rantanen (Linköping) and Laura Kalmari (Djurgården/Älvsjö) all played.

Denmark came back after falling 2 goals behind against France already after 25 minutes, and managed to level the result. Djurgården/Älvsjö's Dorte Dalum Jensen and Katrine Pedersen both played the full 90 minutes in the Danish defense in the 2-2 draw.

Iceland visited England at Norwich, lost 1-0 on a late England goal. Malmö FF's Dora Stefansdottir played the full match and Mallbacken's Erla Arnardottir came in as a 2nd half substitute.

Malin Andersson looking forward to U21 assignment

"It was such a great and fun offer, that I couldn't turn it down", comments Malin Andersson on her new assignment as assistant coach for Sweden's U21 team. Malin did her debut as a U21 player in the early 1990's when Marika Domanski Lyfors coached the team. Later they spend a lot of time together in the senior team and now they're back together again: "It's going to be fun working with Marika. We know each other well, she is a good coach and a good person".

Malin is satisfied that the Swedish FA has started to use veteran players to staff the national teams; "It's good that you use the older player's experience and knowledge and the understanding for the younger players situation." She also says, for her personally, it's a good way to come to terms with not playing football any more.

The assistant coach position is also the right amount of work, says Malin: "The team only meets four or five times a year, so I don't have to take much time off from work. I'll have to watch matches, but I would have done that anyway, but I'll get a lot of evenings and weekends free."

Malmö FF:
Malin Andersson assisterande förbundskapten för U21-landslaget
Kristianstadbladet: Malin tillbaka – som Marikas assistent

Malin Andersson named assistant coach for Sweden's U21

Former Sweden and Malmö FF veteran Malin Andersson, who finished her career as a player after last season, has been named assistant coach for Sweden's U21 team, re-establishing her cooperation with Marika Domanski Lyfors. Malin says that she took a complete break from football for a couple of months but this new assignment feels very exciting and stimulating. She hopes to be able to share of her experience to the young players.

At the press conference the Swedish U21 squad for a match against France on March 12 was also presented:
Goalkeepers: Kristin Hammarström KIF Örebro, Veronika Svensson Gideonsbergs IF
Defenders: Kathlene Fernström Mallbackens IF, Johanna Frisk Umeå IK, Emma Herbring Jitex BK, Maria Karlsson Kopparberga/Göteborg FC, Anna Paulson Umeå IK
Midfielders:Emma Wilhelmsson Malmö FF, Lena Andersson KIF Örebro, Sofie Andersson Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC, Maria Aronsson Linköpings FC, Madelaine Edlund Sunnanå SK, Nilla Fischer Malmö FF
Forwards: Linda Forsberg Hammarby IF, Emma Jonsson Sunnanå SK, Maria Karlsson Linköpings FC, Alexandra Nilsson Sunnanå SK, Maria Nordbrandt Sunnanå SK

Svensk Fotboll:
"Malla" assisterar Marika
SVT: Malin Andersson blir U21-kapten
Damfotboll.com: Malla blir assisterande i U 21-landslaget

Sweden squad for Algarve announced

Sweden's squad for the coming Algarve Cup was announced today. Assistant coach Lillie Persson commented that since the veterans Malin Andersson and Kicki Bengtsson has left the team it's important to give a lot of time to the new defenders. Caroline Näfver, Stina Segerström and Maria Bergkvist, who all got their first caps against England in Cyprus a few weeks ago, will also go to Algarve.

Goalkeepers: Caroline Jönsson, Malmö FF, Hedvig Lindahl, Linköping, Sofia Lundgren, Umeå.
Defenders: Caroline Näfver, KIF Örebro, Sara Larsson, Linköping, Hanna Marklund, Sunnanå, Maria Bergkvist, Umeå, Stina Segerström, KIF Örebro, Karolina Westberg, Umeå, Frida Östberg, Linköping. 
Midfielders: Johanna Almgren, Kopparbergs/Göteborg, Linda Fagerström, Djurgården/Älvsjö, Malin Moström, Umeå, Lotta Schelin, Kopparbergs/Göteborg, Caroline Seger, Linköping, Therese Sjögran, Malmö FF, Anna Sjöström, Umeå. 
Forwards: Hanna Ljungberg, Umeå, Therese Lundin, Malmö FF, Salina Olsson, Kopparbergs/Göteborg, Victoria Svensson, Djurgården/Älvsjö.

Svensk Fotboll:
Sveriges trupp till Algarve Cup
Dagens Nyheter: Damtruppen till Algarve Cup uttagen
Damfotboll.com: Förnyat förtroende för debutanttrio till Algarve Cup

Dennerby satisfied with two draws against England

If Sweden's national team coach Thomas Dennerby was satisfied with his largely untried team's performance in the 0-0 draw on Tuesday, he was even more so with the Thursday match. "We followed up the really good defense play from Tuesday and the attack was even better", he said after the match. "I'm really proud of the team and it will be hard to pick the squad for Algarve Cup."

Sweden's goal came early in the match after a model attack with a gereat pass from Salina Olsson to Victoria Svensson, who turned her defender and gave Maria Aronsson a great scoring opportunity, which she converted. Pressed to mention any individual players, he was very pleased with goal-scorer Maria Aronsson, who worked great together with Victoria Svensson, Salina Olsson created a lot in midfield and Caroline Seger continues to grow as a player.

Sweden's squad:  Sofia Lundgren Umeå IK - Anna Paulson Umeå IK (73 Frida Östberg Linköping FC), Sara Larsson Linköping FC (46 Stina Segerström KIF Örebro), Karolina Westberg Umeå IK, Maria Bergkvist Umeå IK - Johanna Almgren Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC, Salina Olsson Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC, Nilla Fischer Malmö FF (38 Caroline Seger Linköping FC), Maria Karlsson Linköping FC (73 Caroline Näfver KIF Örebro) - Victoria Svensson Djurgården/Älvsjö (46 Lotta Schelin Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC), Maria Aronsson Linköping FC.
Goals: 5 Maria Sronsson 1-0, 64 Rachel Unitt 1-1

Aftonbladet:
Aronsson glänste
Radiosporten: Oavgjort igen för damerna (audio file with Dennerby interview)
Svt: Oavgjort igen mot England
Svensk Fotboll: Andra oavgjorda mot England

The other view at The FA: England hit back

Goalless draw in first England friendly

"We're very happy with this match. It was a good match with high pace and a lot of scoring opportunities. It could just as well have ended 2-2 instead of 0-0", said Sweden's head coach Thomas Dennerby after the first of two friendlies against England on Cyprus this week. England played fast and tuogh and had the upper hand large parts of the match. There were a lot of heavy legs in the Swedish team, that is in preseason training with a lot of strength and fitness training. Dennerby was particulary pleased with the two first-timers Stina Segerström och Caroline Näfwer, who did good in defense. He adds that the team for the Thursday match will have a completely different line-up.

Sweden's squad: Hedvig Lindahl Linköping FC - Frida Östberg Linköping FC, Sara Larsson Linköping FC (79 Karolina Westberg Umeå IK), Stina Segerström KIF Örebro, Caroline Näfwer KIF Örebro - Linda Fagerström Djurgården/Älvsjö (62 Johanna Almgren Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC), Caroline Seger Linköping FC, Therese Sjögran Malmö FF, Lotta Schelin Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC - Therese Lundin Malmö FF (66 Salina Olsson Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC), Victoria Svensson Djurgården/Älvsjö.

Svensk Fotboll:
Mållöst i säsongpremiären

The other side of the story can be found at The FA: England held by Sweden

More substitutions in Sweden's squad for England friendlies

Hammarby's Sara Johansson and Sunnanå's Hanna Marklund has turned in their sick-notes and will not participate in Sweden's Cyprus camp. Thomas Dennerby has decided to call up Linköping's Maria Aronsson and Umeå's Maria Bergkvist as replacements. If she gets on the field in one of the England matches, 28 year old Maria Bergkvist will make her national team debut.

Svensk Fotboll:
Två sena återbud till Cypern

Salina Olsson to replace Ljungberg for England matches

National team head coach Thomas Dennerby has called up Kopparbergs/Göteborg's Salina Olsson as a replacement for unwell Hanna Ljungberg for the Cyprus camp and England friendlies. Salina Olsson, who recently transfered to Göteborg from Hammarby, has been on and off the national team for a few years and did not make the squad for the European Championships 2005. The national team will take off for Cyprus on Saturday.

Svensk Fotboll:
Salina ersätter Ljungberg till Cypern

Ljungberg says no to England friendlies

Umeå's forward Hanna Ljungberg has decided to cancel her participation in the Swedish national team's Cyprus training camp and two England friendlies. Ljungberg is taking antibiotics to get rid of a cold and doesn't feel fit enough for matches. No substitute has been named yet.

Svenskl Fotboll:
Ingen Ljungberg till Cypern

National team squad set for Cyprus camp

There is no official news yet, but is seems like Thomas Dennerby has all but finalized his squad for the national team camp in Cyprus February 4-11. Djurgården/Älvsjö's website publishes this squad today:
Goalkeepers: Hedvig Lindahl (Linköping FC), Sofia Lundgren (Umeå IK)
Defenders: Sara Larsson (Linköping FC), Hanna Marklund (Sunnanå SK), Caroline Näfwer (KIF Örebro), Anna Paulsson (Umeå IK), Stina Segerström (KIF Örebro), Karolina Westberg (Umeå IK), Frida Östberg (Linköping FC)
Midfielders: Johanna Almgren (Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC), Linda Fagerström (Djurgården/Älvsjö), Nilla Fischer (Malmö FF), Maria Karlsson (Linköping FC), Lotta Schelin (Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC), Caroline Seger (Linköping FC), Therese Sjögran (Malmö FF)
Forwards: Sara Johansson (Hammarby IF), Hanna Ljungberg (Umeå IK), Therese Lundin (Malmö FF), Victoria Svensson (Djurgården/Älvsjö)

Dennerby has earlier this year commented that there will be more new and young players on the Cyprus squad, while the squad for Algarve Cup should consist of the players that will be playing in the World Cup qualifiers later this year. Which might explain missing players like Malin Moström and Caroline Jönsson.

Djurgården/Älvsjö:
Victoria och Linda till Cypern
Nerikes Allehanda: KIF-duo tar plats i damlandslaget

Edit: The squad for the Cyprus camp, including two England matches, is now confirmed by the Swedish FA.

Svensk Fotboll: Två debutanter till årets första landskamper
Sveriges Television: Två debutanter i Dennerbys landslag

Injured Sara Johansson replaced by Salina Olsson in NT squad

Djurgården/Älvsjö's Sara Johansson, injured with a thigh muscle tear, has to relinquish the World Cup qualification match against Iceland. Thomas Dennerby has picked Hammarby's forward Salina Olsson to replace her.

Dagens Nyheter: Salina Olsson in i Dennerbys trupp


Dennerby answers critizism for national team selection

Thomas Dennerby's first national team selection has recieved a lot of critizism for being conservative - the average player is 27 years old and has more than 70 caps. But Dennerby defends picking players like Kicki Bengtsson (35) and Malin Andersson (32) instead of promising youngsters like Umeå's Anna Paulsson or Malmö's Nilla Fischer: "I think they benefit more from 90 minutes on the field with the U21 team than from 90 minutes on the bench with the first team". He seems pretty convinced that Bengtsson and Andersson are the best players at their respective positions, left and right back. He gives the same kind of answer to those who wanted to see Mallbacken goalie Carola Söborg: "She's one of the top five keepers in Damallsvenskan, but the two I've picked are better"

In the tabloid Expressen he's also been quoted saying that Umeå's extensive signing of foreign players "is bordering to what is good for the game". In an Umeå paper he explained that "If I'm asked what I think about national team players being benched in their clubs, I honestly can't say I think it's good".

Värmlands Folkblad: Inget landslagsspel
Värmlands Folkblad: Johansson:Hon behöver få chansen
Västerbottenskuriren: Dennerby möter kritiken (no link, only active 24 hours)


Dennerby announces squad for World Cup qualifier

National team head coach Thomas Dennerby today announced the squad for the World Cup qualifier against Iceland August 28, his first as head coach. Not much news or many surprises:

Goalkeepers:
Hedvig Lindahl, Linköping
Caroline Jönsson, Malmö

Defenders:
Sara Larsson, Linköping
Hanna Marklund, Sunnanå
Jane Törnqvist, Djurgården/Älvsjö
Kristin Bengtsson, Djurgården/Älvsjö
Malin Andersson, Malmö
Frida Östberg, Umeå

Midfielders:
Malin Moström, Umeå
Caroline Seger, Linköping
Therese Sjögran, Malmö
Anna Sjöström, Umeå
Lotta Schelin, Kopparberg/Göteborg
Linda Fagerström, Djurgården/Älvsjö

Forwards:
Victoria Svensson, Djurgården/Älvsjö
Hanna Ljungberg, Umeå
Sara Johansson, Djurgården/Älvsjö
Therese Lundin, Malmö

Damfotboll.com
Svensk Fotboll


Dennerby talks about next generation national team players

In an interview with Göteborgsposten national team coach Thomas Dennerby talks about what is beyond today's national team he names five players: KIF Örebro's defender Stina Segerström, midfielders Johanna Almgren (Kopparbergs/Göteborg), Nilla Fischer (Malmö FF) and Magdalena Esseryd (Sunnanå) and finally Sunnanå's striker Madeleine Edlund. But none of these will play for Sweden in the World Cup qualifier later this month. Dennerby says it will be more or less the team that played the European Championship, with the addition of a few national team veterans like Linda Fagerström (Djurgården) and Therese Lundin (Malmö FF).

Dennerby continues to say that he thinks that the swedish players needs to improve their physique if we are going to be able to compete with Germany and USA. He wants to build his national team on a well organized defense, but it's important to give a lot of freedom and initiative to the players in the attacking game.

Göteborgsposten: Framtiden finns i Göteborg


Thomas Dennerby interview

Expressen talks to new national team coach Thomas Dennerby.

About the generation change:
There is a lot of young players coming, but when it comes to the international level they have to take one more step. The next years we might see e.g. Madde Edlund (Sunnanå), Emma Stålhammar (Malmö) and Maria Aronsson (Linköping).

He's talking to all the national team players, but so far no one has announced that they are retiring. "You can be 14 or 40 years old as long as you are good enough", Dennerby says.

About the national team:
There will not be any big changes in our way of play. But he would like the team to dare to hold on to the ball a bit more. Our forwards get to run back and forth a bit too much now.

About the difference of coaching a club team and the national team:
It's a big difference. You don't get to spend much time with the players. National team coaching is a lot about team-building.

Expressen: "Det kommer att bli en tajt sommar"


European Championships: Post tournament news and views

The feelings in the team was recognizable - the same numb, empty feeling they've had after a couple of other extra-time defeats (when did a swedish national team last manage to win a match that went on to extra-time??).
Aftonbladet: "Det här gör riktigt ont"
Corren: Gulddrömmen sprack -- Marika i tårar
Dagens Nyheter: Sveriges bästa halvlek räckte inte mot Norge
Dagens Nyheter: Picture show (Flash)
Dagens Nyheter: Hanna Ljungberg: "Tomhet och besvikelse"
Expressen: Marika i tårar efter förlusten

The most common comment from various sports columnists were a relief that the national team managed to finish in an honorable way. The team has been very critisized for their performance in the group matches, but in the semi they showed what they are capable of: "Brilliant football in the first half" is one comment, while Norway's win is called a tactical triumph; they played, in loss for a better word, norwegian - simple, fighting, long balls, fast counters. And, in a reply to some views from norwegian players before the match, another column says: "This team has reached the semifinals in four championships in four years. You don't do that just being lucky."

There seems to be only one point where some are critical, the substitution of Caroline Seger for Frida Östberg at half time. Trying to created something forward exchanged for destructive defense seems to be the general opinion. Personally I can understand the coach's decision - Seger seemed sometimes a liability at midfield, losing the ball from trying to dribble or shortpass instead for taking a more simple approach.

The match is seen as not only Marika Domanski Lyfors farewell, it is also the farewell of the old guard. This in spite of no player (maybe except for Kristin Bengtsson) having said they will retire from the national team, many though have left the question unanswered. Many columnists speculates on what new head coach Thomas Dennerby should do, and maybe mostly how fast he should move in the younger players.
Aftonbladet: De utslagna hjältinnorna
Corren: Utan Seger ingen final
Dagens Nyheter: KRÖNIKAN: Ett bittert slut på en storhetstid
Expressen: Brask: Kurvan pekar neråt - nu får vi se fram mot 2008
Sydsvenskan: En härlig revansch till ingen nytta
Västerbottens Folkblad: Hedern är räddad


European Championships: Semifinal Norway - Sweden

Norway - Sweden 3-2 et, 2-2 (1-1)
Norway: Bente Nordby - Marianne Paulsen, Marit Fiane Christensen (80 Maritha Kaufmann), Ane Stangeland, Gunhild B Følstad - Solveig Gulbrandsen, Ingvild Stensland, Unni Lehn - Dagny Mellgren, Lise Klaveness, Isabell Herlovsen (65 Stine Fransen)
Sweden: Hedvig Lindahl - Sara Larsson, Hanna Marklund, Jane Törnqvist, Kristine Bengtsson - Anna Sjöström, Malin Moström, Caroline Seger (46 Frida Östberg), Therese Sjögran (71 Josefine Öqvist) - Victoria Svensson (49 Lotta Schelin), Hanna Ljungberg.
Goals: 1-0 Solveig Gulbrandsen (40) , 1-1 Hanna Ljungberg (42), 2-1 Isabell Herlovsen (64), 2-2 Hanna Ljungberg (89), 3-2 Solveig Gulbrandsen (109).
Much better game than in the group play. Sweden showed a lot of the play that has been wanted, dominated most of the first half, nice passing play, ball mostly to the ground, good movement in the offensive half. Norway relied a lot on long balls and really fast counters and their forwards are great to watch. Norway took over in the second half, maybe Svensson's early injury played a part here. Her reborned cooperation with Hanna Ljungberg had resulted in one goal and some dangerous situations in the first half.

Still, I would rather have had them play badly and win than play good and lose.

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