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| Kosovare Asllani (Blue) and Lotta Schelin (Yellow) |
Certainly, the
Kardashians aren't one (thankfully!) but....
It is a widespread
acceptance that the Super Falcons are unarguably in the Group of Death in the
World Cup slated for June. With 17 days to go and our Falcons en route the
Canadian Capital of Toronto ahead of schedule, let's asses the teams our girls
will be facing.
The 8th of June
in Winnipeg will see the Falcons play their first game at the Winnipeg Stadium
against a prolific Swede side. Four days later, they take on the Matildas of
Australia, Asia's reigning runners up. In another four days, the girls face the
last and indeed the beast, USA.
So let's begin
to dissect, bisect and probably affect these
teams, shall we?
The Need for Swede
If the above
subtext had ''speed'' fit in, it wouldn't change much. This brilliant team of guile
lynchpins has been one of the powerhouses of women's football since the sport
took its first step.
The Damlandslaget has featured
in the World Cup since its inception in 1991; an exclusive club of seven teams
which includes Nigeria.
They are fourth in the all
time FIFA Women's ranking and have always progressed from the group stage with
the exception of the 2007 edition in China where they made a shock exit at the
group stage after finishing runners up in the US four years earlier.
However, such a team of
pedigree has of course, flattered to
deceive. Termed the ''contending
pretender'', Sweden are yet to stamp their
imprint on the tournament as an outight favorite. Together with Brazil, they
have been one of the perennial underachievers and with an aging team of
superstars, that trend may not change soon.
Their route to Canada 2015 was
relatively straightforward, bagging ten wins in ten as well as conceeding just
a solitary goal with 32 scored. In
contrast to being the meanest defense in the UEFA Qualification (tied with
England and Switzerland), they were also Europe's least prolific in front of
goal.
In another change of tides,
the Swedish side has shipped eight goals in their last three friendly games;
failing to register wins against Germany (lost 2-1), World Cup debutante -
Switzerland (lost 3-1) and astonishingly, world cup
absentee, Denmark (drew 3-3).
Pia Sundhage had lamentated
her side's tame creativity and penetration but now, the former USA coach and
2011 WC silver medallist has it all to do with her team's atrocious displays of
late.
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| Pia Sundhage, Coach of Sweden |
She would have to get the best
off her squad whose average age is 27 and depend on experienced veterans in all
corners of the pitch; Goalkeeper- Hedvig Lindahl, Defender- Nilla Fischer,
Midfielders -Therese Sjogren and Caroline Seger as well as Forward -Lotta
Schelin (pictured in yellow above) who
are 32, 31, 38, 30 and 31 years of age respectively.
Nonetheless, this team has
fielded youth with their experienced legs; one of such examples being the blazing
forward Sofia Jakobsson (25 years). They play a style
reminiscent of the male German team which is basically possession-based
football and key to its implementation is Caroline Seger, who'll be relishing
the task of not just the skipper but the central marshal.
Interestingly, Sweden and
Nigeria are familiar foes on the world stage. Having faced each other in the
same group in the 2003 and 2007 edition of the world cup and Athens 2004
Olympic games, the Falcons are yet to defeat this Scandinavian side. They have
drawn once (1-1, China 2007) and lost twice (2-1, Olympic games and 3-0, USA 2003).
Sweden will want
to improve on the bronze medal won in 2011 making the game against Nigeria, a
potential banana skin in what is a lose-and-risk-elimination group. It's up to the
Falcons to be airtight on the day and take advantage of the shaky defense
that's certain to be under immense pressure to get it right from the blast of
the whistle. Instrumental to our cause will be set pieces and disrupting any
rhythm conjured by the lethal pair of Fischer and Jakobsson.
As evidenced by
their resurgence after going a woman down and winning bronze last time around;
against a disciplined France, we will face a relentless Swede team thus, our
concentration must be the joker.
They may not
have the pace nor the legs, but there will be a hard target.
For them, that
may just be enough.
Except we change
the narrative.
More To Follow......
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