Sweden among ‘best in the world', says Asllani ahead of England clash
England's quarter-final opponents in the 2025 European Championships have reached the semi-finals of the last four major tournaments, despite not being considered among the favourites.
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'I feel like Sweden are always flying under the radar,' said Asllani. 'It suits us. We're one of the best teams in the world. But people rarely speak about us as a team that can win gold.
'We know we can beat any team in the world when we have our best day. People should definitely talk about us more.'
The 35-year-old spoke of the players' 'incredible belief' in one another and how unified the team have become under manager Peter Gerhardsson, whose contract expires after the tournament.
'England have a lot of talented players, while our biggest strength lies in the way we play as a team,' she said.
Sweden have always been a physical team but over the years have become a more technical side and played with a higher intensity.
'That's why we've been developing so much as a national team,' Asllani added.
England beat Sweden 4-0 at the Euro 2022 semi-final stage but had four or five members from their playing and coaching team ruled out with sickness, including left-back Jonna Andersson and the team's psychologist.
The teams' most recent meetings ended in two draws — 1-1 and 0-0 — in qualification for this tournament.
When asked if they fear England, the No 10 said they respect the Lionesses but do not have the word 'fear' in their dictionary, rather the word 'courage'.
'They're one of the best teams in the world but we have the perfect game plan and we have our own strengths,' she said. 'In our minds there's only one outcome for us: victory.'
England play Sweden in the quarter-finals on Thursday with the winner facing Norway or Italy in the last four.
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