Bayern Munich and Sweden star excited by prospect of playing at Wrexham
Magdalena Eriksson (16) of Chelsea Women during the FA Women Super League football match between Chelsea and Everton at Kingsmeadow on 12 September 2021. (Featured Image: Katie Chan)
Sweden have been in Wales since Saturday afternoon, but without a doubt, they are absolutely delighted to be facing off against Rhian Wilkinson’s side.
Even before talking about football, both captain Magdalena Eriksson and manager Peter Gerhardsson praised the nation, and Wrexham in particular.
For Bayern Munich defender Eriksson, her excitement comes from the famous documentary, and playing at the famous Racecourse Ground is something she’s been eagerly awaiting to do.
“I’ve seen the Welcome to Wrexham documentary, at least the first season, so I was quite excited when I heard this was where the game was going to be!
“I’ve seen the ground in the documentary, and I obviously know about the club, so it is exciting, and it feels like women’s football in Wales is going on a rise.
“They qualified for the Euros in the summer, they have a team that keeps getting better, and it’ll be a really good game tomorrow with a great atmosphere.”
Meanwhile, Gerhardsson revealed he is a music purist, and that he often frequents a very famous Welsh festival.
“When I saw the draw, I shouted ‘yes!’. Because we have played Ireland, Scotland, and England recently, but we’ve not played Wales for a very long time.
“I’ve been to Wales before. I really like my music festivals, and one of the best festivals is Greenman. I’ve been there many times, staying in tents and listening to good music, so I like Wales!”
Sweden make perfect start
In all honesty, we could have talked about Welsh culture and oddities for hours on end, but alas, football got in the way.
But the Swedes didn’t mind talking about that either, especially as they made a perfect start to their Nations League campaign with a 2-1 win against Denmark.
Eriksson admitted the game could have gone either way, but was delighted to leave Odense with all three points.
“It was a tight game that could have gone either way. They made it really difficult for us at times and vice versa. We were so pleased to be able to come away with three points and getting a good start to the Nations League campaign.”
Gerhardsson, meanwhile, revealed he wasn’t too sure what to expect from his team on Friday, but was happy to see what his side produced.
“We had two and a half months between our win over Serbia in the playoffs and our game against Denmark, and you never know going in what your squad will look that, but the girls put in a tremendous effort in training.
“A lot of things against Denmark were very good, but there’s a short time between matches, and you want to get everybody back up to full fitness and to be focused ahead of tomorrow.”
Wales and Sweden set for first meeting in 15-years
Remarkably, this will be the first time since 2010 that Wales have played Sweden.
That game 15 years ago ended 5-1 in Sweden’s favour, but Eriksson is pleased that Sweden are facing a fresh challenge rather than another matchup against a big team.
“This is what’s so exciting about the Nations League format, is that we play good, competitive games, but we’re able to meet new opponents. We’ve played always against Spain, France, England, now we have Wales, and it’s good for us and our preparation for the Euros.”
When it comes to on the pitch matters, Sweden know they will be in for a big battle against Wales.
Gerhardsson has experience of setting up his team to face Ireland and England and believes Wales could represent a similar test.
“Wales are a very physical team. We saw how they played against Ireland, and because we’ve played against them and England before, we kind of know what to expect in a physical sense.
“Wales have naturally good players as well, they are well organised, and I’m looking forward to the game.”
However, one player Sweden won’t have to worry about is Sophie Ingle, who is recovering from an ACL injury.
Eriksson and Ingle shared many successful years together at Chelsea, and the Sweden captain is hopeful Ingle can return to Wales ahead of the Euros.
“Sophie brought so much consistency during my time at Chelsea. She had a captain like behaviour about her all the time, and it was so nice because I knew I could always count on Sophie being Sophie.
“She is always this calm presence in the team, she takes responsibility, she’s consistent in her game on the pitch, and she always looks after the people around her a lot.
“We had some fantastic years together at Chelsea, and I’m gutted about her injury, but I hope she’s on the right track.”
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