Sweden happy to be 'flying under the radar' ahead of Euro 2025 quarter-final against England

ZURICH (AP) — Sweden is happy to be “flying under the radar” at the Women’s European Championship, but if it ousts defending champion England that might not be the case anymore.

The two nations face off in Thursday’s quarterfinal in Zurich.

Sweden topped its group with maximum points after three wins, including a memorable 4-1 victory over Germany, while England finished second in its group after bouncing back from an opening loss to France by thrashing the Netherlands and then Wales.

But while England is considered one of the favorites at Euro 2025, Sweden is rarely mentioned when it comes to naming the potential tournament winners.

“We are always flying under the radar, I would say,” Sweden captain Kosovare Asllani said Wednesday. “And it is 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 have been doing the last few years from the tournaments.

“But people rarely speak about us as someone that can win the gold … and it suits us kind of, because we know we can beat any team in the world when we have our best day.”

Sweden has collected a whole host of silver and bronze medals at tournaments but hasn’t lifted a trophy since winning the first Women’s Euros in 1984.

In coach Peter Gerhardsson’s eight-year tenure, Sweden was twice a World Cup semifinalist, took the silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics and reached the Euro 2022 semifinals — where it was routed 4-0 by England.

However, the players sense that this could be the year the team shakes off its “bridesmaid” reputation.

“We have an incredible belief in one another and the entire team and we do play very intense and physical football,” Asllani said. “Since Peter took over as coach ... we have developed enormously over these past few years and got better and better.

“It feels as if we are a very hungry side now. We want success.”

Sweden and England have been evenly matched since that semifinal in 2022, with their two encounters in the Euro 2025 qualifiers ending in draws.

England is also only one spot above sixth-placed Sweden in the world rankings.

“It’s the kind of game that both teams want, and I mean, any top player in the world wants to be playing in the big games,” England defender Lucy Bronze said. “For me it’s probably the most exciting quarterfinal because the teams are so full of confidence, quality … I think they’re probably two of the highest ranked teams, facing off against each other.

“But we knew that coming into the quarterfinals it was going to be against a tough team. We obviously watched Sweden and Germany play each other … These are exciting times, being in a tournament, playing against top teams.”

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer