After the won game against Italy, the Red Flames are presented with a whopper of an opponent. The Swedish women finished first in their group (including the Netherlands) and are a formidable opponent.
There is certainly no question of underestimating the Swedes.
“Speaking for myself, I think it’s very difficult to underestimate your opponent when you’re in the quarter-finals,” said Fridolina Rolfö, one of the team’s mainstays, during a press briefing for the Swedish squad.
“There are no bad teams left and Belgium really surprised. They were not in a simple group and still managed to finish second.”
Defender Magdalena Eriksson followed the Red Flames’ decisive game against Italy on Monday evening.
“I was very impressed with Belgium. They played a very good match against Italy,” said the 28-year-old Chelsea player, who also praised the Flames technical staff.
“It seems like a team that is very well coached. They played as one team and you could clearly see that there was a clear idea behind their way of playing. I thought it was great to see them even against a higher placed team like Italy had their own idea and went for it.”
Hedvig Lindahl, the Swedish goalkeeper who has defended the colors of her country 191 times, also realizes that Belgium is not going to be a bite-sized chunk.
“Belgium has achieved good results here at the European Championship, such as winning against Italy and only narrowly losing to France. I expect an exciting match on Friday.”
