Latest news with #Sweden


Bloomberg
an hour ago
- Automotive
- Bloomberg
Volvo Takes $1.2 Billion Charge Over Tariffs and EV Model Delays
Volvo Car AB is taking an impairment charge of 11.4 billion Swedish kronor ($1.2 billion) due to delays to some of its electric models and the escalating cost of tariffs. Past development setbacks and duties in the US have hit Volvo's battery-powered models, the EX90 sport utility vehicle and ES90 sedan. The effect of the one-time non-cash charge on net income will be 9 billion kronor in the second quarter, the carmaker said Monday.


The Guardian
an hour ago
- Sport
- The Guardian
England captain Williamson believes ‘relentless' Sweden are threat at Euro 2025
The England captain, Leah Williamson, has said Sweden deserve more respect and that their strong record at major tournaments should be spoken about more frequently, as the two sides prepare to meet in Thursday's Euro 2025 quarter-final. Sweden have reached the knockout stages of every Women's European Championship since 1995 and have been in the semi-finals at three of the past five Euros. They have also finished third in the past two World Cups and claimed silver medals at both the Rio and Tokyo Olympics. Williamson, however, feels Peter Gerhardsson's side go under the radar and are often underestimated. 'Sweden are a fantastic team, they're relentless in the way they go about their game,' the Lionesses centre-back said. 'I think they sort of avoid the expectation of every tournament, and nobody really talks about them, [which is] slightly disrespectful, I think, because they always show up and they always seem to pose a threat to most teams, and normally come out with a medal or [be] a semi-final team, so they're a strong team. We're looking forward to the fixture.' England have scored 10 goals in their past two games to qualify for the quarter-finals in style despite losing their opening match against France, and Williamson admitted it had been an 'emotional group stage, [with] lots of ups and downs' for the defending champions, but added: 'It's been a great display of our attacking football [against Wales] and obviously that's how you win games.' Sarina Wiegman's side had six different goalscorers against Wales, including Williamson's Arsenal teammate Beth Mead, who said England had watched Sweden's victory over Germany on Saturday. She said: 'They [Sweden] pose a very different threat and it's a team we have played a lot in the past and hopefully we can nullify what they're very good at and bring our strengths into the game.' Before their upcoming meeting in Zurich, England and Sweden shared two draws in 2024, but their most recent meeting in a major tournament ended in a 4-0 victory for England at Bramall Lane in their Euro 2022 semi-final. 'We've got a lot of experience against them,' added the England midfielder Georgia Stanway, whose penalty opened the floodgates against Wales on Sunday. 'Obviously they're tough, they're physical, they're more direct. I'm not sure we've faced that so far in our group.' Sign up to Moving the Goalposts No topic is too small or too big for us to cover as we deliver a twice-weekly roundup of the wonderful world of women's football after newsletter promotion Asked if she felt England had the upper hand against the Swedes, the Bayern Munich midfielder Stanway replied: 'Not necessarily. It's tournament football. Anything can happen in 90 minutes. I think we just need to continue where we've been. If we have the intensity that we had against the Netherlands, if we press the way that we pressed, if we win the ball back as much as we did … we can only control what we can do. 'Today we focus on what the result that we've just had and how proud we are to get out of the group. There's been many days in this tournament where we could have actually been going home. So to be in this situation to be staying a few more days is something that we can proud of.'


Times
2 hours ago
- Sport
- Times
England finish group stage with a flourish against Wales as Sweden loom
It would have been scandalous had England exited Euro 2025 yesterday, and their thrashing of Wales displayed why. The Lionesses needed a win to guarantee their quarter-final place, and promptly surged into a 4-0 lead before half-time to extinguish any jeopardy against a vastly inferior opponent. England finish second in group D behind France, who beat the Netherlands to preserve their perfect record. Sarina Wiegman, England's head coach, insisted it did not matter where England placed in the top two, but not winning the group may suit her side just fine. Although they have a very tough quarter-final against Sweden on Thursday, France will have a similarly challenging tie against Germany. A potential semi-final would be far easier for England, though, because they would play either Italy or Norway, two teams against whom they would be favourites. Had they topped group D, England would have probably faced Spain, the group stage's outstanding side, in the last four. Going into the half of the bracket not featuring the world champions is hardly a bad thing. For now, England can take satisfaction from the excellent response to losing their tournament opener to France. They beat Netherlands 4-0 to keep their title defence alive, and then avoided a humiliating slip-up yesterday. 'We built momentum from the France game because that really brought us together,' Wiegman said. 'In the Netherlands game, we created momentum by playing to our strengths. You could see the togetherness of the team. Today was a totally different game because we knew we would have the ball a lot.' Wales, in their first major tournament and Euro 2025's lowest-ranked team, defied the odds merely by qualifying. While they depart having lost all three games and with a goal difference of minus 11, their campaign could transform women's football in the country. Hannah Cain's consolation was celebrated joyously by the strong Welsh following here in St Gallen. Nonetheless, it is England who will sustain British hopes in Switzerland. Keira Walsh, Ella Toone and Lauren James were particularly impressive in an unchanged XI, with James's move to right wing to make space for Toone as the No10 working nicely again. The switch of Jess Carter to centre back and Alex Greenwood to left back is also continuing to look wise. England took 13 minutes to find the breakthrough. Carrie Jones brought down Georgia Stanway on the edge of the area and, after a painstakingly long VAR review, the punishment was upgraded from a free kick to a penalty. Stanway converted. Wales's defend-and-frustrate plan was in pieces and England capitalised. Leah Williamson's crossfield pass was headed on by Lauren Hemp, Stanway charged down Jones's weak clearance and Russo forced the ball around Olivia Clark, the goalkeeper. That messy sequence left Toone with a near-open goal and after her first effort was blocked on the line by Lily Woodham, she scored from the rebound. Wales responded well to going 2-0 down. Angharad James forced a low save from Hannah Hampton, who was being watched from the stands by Mary Earps, the goalkeeper she inadvertently pushed towards international retirement by taking the No1 spot. Yet the resurgence was brief. An overlapping Toone crossed from the right to Hemp, and the winger headed home her first goal since October. Hemp's 2024-25 season was blighted by a knee injury but she has looked in good fettle in England's past two games. Mead got on the scoresheet after coming off the bench at half-time as Wiegman rotated in preparation for the Sweden MATTHEW CHILDS/REUTERS Toone, thriving in that No10 role after not starting against France, also assisted the fourth. She got to the byline and cut back to give Russo an easy finish. 'Massive credit to Ella Toone,' Walsh, England's metronomic pivot, said of the team's midfield. 'She's come in and done an incredible job. People speak about her offensively, but the defensive work she does for me and Georgia when she's in there is incredible. She covers a lot of spaces that we can't. 'That's probably been the main thing that's stopped other teams from playing. With LJ [James] on the wing, we've managed to get both on the pitch and they are two world-class players.' On the stroke of half-time Hampton made a rare distribution gaffe but Jess Fishlock shot wide. England's dominance allowed them to bring on Jess Park and Beth Mead for the whole second half, in place of Toone and Hemp. Wiegman soon removed two more of her starters in James and Russo, with Chloe Kelly and Aggie Beever-Jones getting a decent run out. Mead lifted the second half out of its slumber in the 72nd minute, shifting onto her left and finishing neatly after a good lay-off from Beever-Jones. The loudest cheers of the night may have been for Cain's goal. Fishlock, Wales's record goalscorer and cap-holder, who may have been playing her last international, drove through midfield after Williamson's sloppy pass. Fishlock then played in Cain, whose first-time strike was unstoppable. A special moment for Wales, but it is England who stay in the hunt for the grand prize. Beever-Jones headed in a sixth to ensure the champions finished with a flourish. England (4-2-1-3): H Hampton 6 — L Bronze 7 (N Charles 79min), L Williamson 6, J Carter 6, A Greenwood 7 — K Walsh 8, G Stanway 7 — E Toone 8 (J Park 46, 7) — L James 8 (C Kelly 56, 6), A Russo 7 (A Beever-Jones 57, 7), L Hemp 8 (B Mead 46, 7).


The Independent
2 hours ago
- Sport
- The Independent
Leah Williamson wary of Sweden threat ahead of England's Euro 2025 quarter-final
Captain Leah Williamson refuses to let England downplay the danger posed by Sweden after booking a Euro 2025 quarter-final with the Scandinavians in Switzerland. Defending champions England beat Wales 6-1 on Sunday night in St Gallen to claim their place in the last eight, qualifying as Group D runners-up behind France, which means they will face the Swedes in Zurich on Thursday night. Some have suggested the Lionesses have come out on the more favourable side of the draw – now guaranteed to avoid World Cup holders Spain until a potential final – but Williamson vehemently disagrees with that mentality. 'Sweden are a fantastic team,' she said. 'They're relentless in the way they go about their game. 'I think they sort of avoid the expectation of every tournament, and nobody really talks about them, (which is) slightly disrespectful, I think, because they always show up and they always seem to pose a threat to most teams, and normally come out with a medal or (become) a semi-final team. 'So, yes, they are a strong team (and) we're looking forward to the fixture.' The last time England faced Sweden in the Euros three summers ago, Alessia Russo's goal-of-the-tournament backheel at Bramall Lane in their 4-0 semi-final win helped propel the Lionesses into the final at Wembley where they lifted their first major tournament trophy. England's title defence was dented after their opening 2-1 defeat to France, but they got their campaign back on track with a resounding 4-0 victory over 2017 champions the Netherlands, then carried that momentum into the Wales encounter. 'We had to work hard to do what we just did,' said Williamson. 'And yes, it's been an emotional group stage, like lots of ups and downs.' All six of the Lionesses' goals in St Gallen came from different scorers – none of them even from constant danger Lauren James, who was once again excellent – a statement to Sweden, perhaps, about just how many different deadly weapons England boss Sarina Wiegman has at her disposal. Defender Williamson is well-acquainted with one of Sweden's big threats, Arsenal team-mate Stina Blackstenius, who has already scored twice for the Group C winners and knows a thing or two about making an impact for an underestimated side. It was Blackstenius who, in May, fired the underdog Gunners to Champions League glory in their 1-0 victory in Lisbon. 'I suppose (knowing her) will help,' added Williamson. 'But she knows me just as well, so I think we'll nullify each other's threats there.' Should they advance, England will play the winners of Wednesday night's quarter-final between Norway and Italy in the final four. Wiegman said the defeat to France had forced England to step up and 'do things better on the pitch, getting connections better. 'With that loss, the urgency came, and I think the team really responded well to that, and hopefully we can show that again against Sweden.' She added: 'It's now the knockout stage, so that's exciting. Both teams are really going to play to win. Let's see what happens.'


Al Arabiya
2 hours ago
- Business
- Al Arabiya
Sweden mulls calling up 70-year-old officers for military service
Sweden is considering calling up former officers as old as 70 to active duty as it seeks to ensure its military is prepared in times of crisis, the defense minister said on Monday. The proposal is among several options suggested by an inquiry that the government ordered in 2024, the year the country joined NATO, to look at how Sweden's expanding armed forces would be assured of personnel in a conflict. Sweden broke two centuries of military non-alignment to join NATO in the aftermath of Russia's 2022 full-scaled invasion of Ukraine, which sparked alarm in Stockholm and Finland that Moscow could eventually threaten them. Presenting the results of the government probe, Defense Minister Pal Jonson told a press conference on Monday that the Nordic country of 10.5 million people faced 'serious times.' 'This means that we are now making very significant investments in the military defense,' Jonson told reporters. In addition to investing in equipment already underway, Sweden also needed to make sure that enough military personnel would be available in a crisis. The government probe suggested raising the age that former military officers could be recalled to active duty to 70, from the current 47. It also proposed removing a limit on military deployment for former conscripts. Currently, 'deployment duty' remains for a maximum of 10 years after the most recent military service, but the inquiry suggested scrapping this limit and instead placing those who hadn't served for 10 years or more into the Swedish Armed Forces' reserve force. Jonson said the proposals would be sent out for review, hoping to present a bill to parliament early next year. After the end of the Cold War, Sweden drastically slashed its defense spending as it focused its military efforts on international peacekeeping missions. But it reversed course following Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea, and begun increasing military expenditure. In 2017, the country reintroduced compulsory military service, seven years after abandoning it. In March, the government announced it would increase defense spending by about 300 billion kronor ($31 billion) over the next decade, aiming to increase spending to 3.5 percent of GDP by 2030.