“We are relaxed: we are ready” says Sweden’s Kosovare Asllani ahead of quarter-final against England | OneFootball

Swedish captain Kosovare Asllani spoke on the mood of the camp ahead of Sweden’s quarterfinal against England in Zürich tomorrow. She made her debut for the Swedish national team in 2009 and is one of their most important players now, 16 years later.

Statistically, the quarter-final between these sides will be a tight one. Both teams have spoken respectfully about one another, and Asllani echoed this sentiment.

“They have a way of playing that we are used to,” she said. “They have a large number of incredibly skilled players that we need to keep an eye on. We have incredible belief in one another and the entire team. We play very intense and physical football. We have developed enormously over these last few years. We are a very hungry side. We want success. But we respect them and their way of playing.

“We respect England. We respect the team that they have and what they have achieved so far. We don’t have fear. We are a courageous side. You have to respect one of the best sides in the world, that you are going to play against. We have the game plan to win the game. We want to play intensely, physically. But in our minds there is only one outcome and that is that we win this game,” she continued.

“The tournament really gets going once the group stage is over. We have been at this stage before. We are used to it. Playing against the best in the world. These are the matches that are fun to play. It’s going to be an incredibly tough match, but we are fairly evenly matched.”

“We are relaxed. We are ready.”

Earlier this week, England captain Leah Williamson mentioned on several occasions that Sweden are a side that are often overlooked and not talked about enough. According to Asllani, this suits them.

“It’s something that kind of suits us because obviously we think that we are one of the best teams in the world due to the results we’ve been getting the last few years from the tournaments. But the people rarely speak about us as someone that can win gold,” she said.

“So I think we, like I said, are flying under the radar and it suits us kind of because I think we know we can beat any team in the world when we have our best day so  we don’t think about it too much, but people should definitely talk about us more. I think it’s going to be a really even game. So I would say England, they have a lot of talented players, while our biggest strength lies in the team. the way we play as a team. We can expect a really intense football game and on our part, obviously, a physical game because we love to play those kinds of games when it’s a physical battle. So I think it’s going to be a tough and even game. May the best team win.

“The physical part has always been the strength in our team. And that is something we need to have going into games. While when you see the English squad, it’s also a really talented team, with a lot of experience and we have a lot of respect for the English team. But we also have a game plan that we’re working towards and I think that’s the most important thing. We like to be humble and respect the opponents and really analyse them. So we hope we can get our game plan through tomorrow.”

On English football, she said: “The English league is a really physical league. They are a physical team as well. I feel like the Swedish team has become a more technical side. And we play more intense football. I think that the combination of playing intense football and combining with the physical part, that’s why we’ve been developing so much as a national team. But I think the English team definitely has the physical part as well. However, when we enter the pitch, the collective is our strength. I think that is what’s taken us here. And that’s our biggest strength as a team.”

Sweden will face England tomorrow, at 21:00 CET [20:00 BST] in Stadion Letzigrund in Zürich for a spot in the semifinals.