Sweden captain Kosovare Asllani says they “don’t fear” England as the teams prepare to meet in the Euro 2025 quarter-finals on Thursday.
Defending champions England are ranked fifth in the world, just one place above Sweden, who finished top of their group.
Peter Gerhardsson’s side picked up the maximum nine points, ending their group games with an impressive 4-1 win over Germany.
Following England’s 6-1 victory over Wales, midfielder Ella Toone told ITV Sport Sweden “should be scared” – but Asllani disagrees.
“We respect England, the team they have and everything they have achieved so far. But fear? No. We don’t have the word fear in our dictionary,” said Asllani.
“We look up the word courage. Of course you have to respect one of the best sides in the world but we have the perfect gameplan for this match.
“We want to achieve the football we want to represent. In our minds there is only one outcome and that is to win the game.”
Sweden have been one of the standout performers in the tournament and England captain Leah Williamson said they “deserved a little bit more recognition”.
Alongside England and France, Sweden have reached the quarter-finals at all five major tournaments since 2017.
Credit: bbc
