Swede way to banish ghosts of painful losses to Germany
RENNES, FRANCE— With Germany out of the way, Sweden believes it could win it all.
Stina Blackstenius scored the go-ahead goal just minutes into the second half and Sweden surprised Germany with a 2-1 quarterfinal victory Saturday at the Women’s World Cup.
It was Sweden’s first victory against Germany in a major tournament in 24 years, and it sent the ninth-ranked Swedes into the semifinals against the Netherlands.
“We’re going to go for it,” Sweden coach Peter Gerhardsson said.
The second-ranked Germans, who won back-to-back World Cup titles in 2003 and 2007, were the presumptive favourites on their side of the bracket. Instead, they’ll head home.
Germany coach Martina VossTecklenburg said her team seemed to lose focus.
“We knew it was going to be difficult,” she said. “We shall not let this bring us down. We have to make sure this process goes on despite the defeat, to keep on growing, to gain strength and channel this negative experience into something positive and to learn our lessons from it.”
The eighth-ranked Dutch defeated Italy 2-0 earlier Saturday, setting up the semifinal Wednesday in Lyon. The United States plays England in the other semifinal on Tuesday. The final is July 7.
Sweden’s victory came in a rematch of the 2003 World Cup final which Germany won 2-0 in Shanghai. The teams also met in the final at the 2016 Olympics, with Germany taking gold with a 2-1 victory.
Sweden’s last win over Germany in a major tournament was in the group stage of the 1995 World Cup. “We knew we had a chance, and then of course we had to play our best game of the tournament to be able to beat Germany,” Gerhardsson said. “So I’m not surprised, but I knew we had to play and perform at our best on the offence and the defence. And I think we did.”
Lina Magull’s fantastic finish on a half-volley put Germany up in the 16th minute.
Sweden’s Sofia Jakobsson tied it in the 22nd minute with a strike that went under the outstretched leg of German goalkeeper Almuth Schult.
It was the first goal the Germans had allowed at this World Cup, stopping a streak of 381 scoreless minutes.
Blackstenius scored on a rebound off Fridolina Rolfo’s header just about three minutes into the second half to break the stalemate.
“I’m really happy. I’m so proud of the team, the players in the game, the players sitting on the bench, the staff. We’re doing this together,” Jakobsson said. “I’m so grateful to be on a team like this.”
With the win, Sweden also secured a spot in the 2020 Olympics, along with the Netherlands and Great Britain. The top three European teams at the World Cup qualify for an Olympic berth.
“It is a real shame that we can’t defend our Olympic title and that we will be without a big tournament next summer,” Schult said.