Björn after the comeback: "We have come out of the situation"
After an injury-plagued spring, Nathalie Björn is back as team captain for the Swedish women's national soccer team during the World Cup qualifying playoffs.
Quick Look
- Nathalie Björn is back as team captain in the Swedish women's national team after a long injury period.
- Sweden leads the playoff meeting against Lithuania with 5-0 before the return in Solna, where the focus is on building stability in a young and renewed national team.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
Sweden failed to reach direct qualification last spring and is now playing a playoff to reach the WC in Brazil. The team has undergone major changes with many new players and leaders.
The Swedish women's soccer team was only third in their World Cup qualifying group last spring.
The game was unrecognizable, there were far too many changes and the national team was torn apart by injuries and dropouts.
As Sweden now begins the fall playoff for a WC place, there are, however, several joys to take away from last week's away match against a 94th-ranked Lithuania:
● 5–0 in the first meeting means that Blågult is almost through to the next, crucial playoff stage even before Tuesday's return.
● Felicia Schröder finally broke her national team record.
● And Nathalie Björn held on for a whole half.
Chelsea star Björn was awarded the Diamond Ball in 2025. But in 2026, she has only played a total of twelve minutes in the club team. First five minutes in March - where she injured herself again (calf) in her comeback after a thigh injury. Then three and four minutes this autumn, just before the ongoing national team meeting.
When she led Sweden into the hunt for a World Cup ticket to Brazil last Friday, it was as a long-awaited team captain.
- If you have a young and inexperienced team like this, it is of the utmost importance that you have someone you can lean on, says confederation captain Tony Gustavsson.
- It is not just Nathalie Björn's individual characteristics that are important to us. It is her ability to create stability and security around her.
The change at half-time on Friday was according to plan. How many minutes there will be on Tuesday evening in Solna remains to be seen, but it will not be 90. The next national team meeting is already in the mind.
- We cannot afford for "Nattis" to fall apart, says Gustavsson.
The days after the year's longest effort on the football field have felt good, says Björn himself.
- But we are careful about the recovery and everything that it entails.
How has it been to watch this national team from the sidelines during the spring? What have you been thinking?
- It has been incredibly tough not being able to participate and influence. Difficult, replies Nathalie Björn.
- You know the girls so well, you know that they want so much, but that things may not have worked out as you would have liked.
Many new players, a new way of playing and new leaders affected the results, she continues.
Now "they" have gotten out of the situation, says Nathalie Björn, but corrects herself in the next breath:
- Or we have come out of it, it feels stronger.
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
Nathalie Björn does not play 90 minutes in the return match in Solna.
Very likely · Within days
Open Questions
- How many minutes will Nathalie Björn play in the second leg?
