U.S. has ‘learned how to win:’ Sweden head coach

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This article was published 11/06/2015 (4081 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Over and over on Thursday afternoon, Team Sweden’s head coach – legendary former player, relentlessly colourful character – called the American soccer women the “best team in the world.”
 
It’s not necessarily that the U.S. is the most technical side on the globe, Sundhage mused, speaking at a jam-packed press conference in the basement of Winnipeg’s stadium. It’s that their leaders have been to the top, and lead the way now; it’s that the team has learned how to win. “If you have a game, you have to bring it,” Sundhage said. “Especially when it really matters… when it really matters, the States have an ability to bring out the best performance.”
 
The Swedish coach understands the U.S. squad better than most, having served as their head coach between 2008 and 2012. She was there in 2011, when the Americans battled to the final of the last World Cup, and fell to a remarkable technical performance from Japan. So when she calls the U.S. the best team in the world, she knows of which she speaks.
 
Still, that doesn’t mean Sundhage’s fifth-ranked side will march into Friday night’s marquee Group D match against the Americans with their sights set low. “If you look at the players we have, the central line… we do have goal scorers,” Sundhage said. “That’s something we will bring to the game. We need to be smart, and put all the pressure onto the U.S. team. I know exactly what we can do, and what we’re able to do. Now we have to find the atmosphere, and we do have it in the locker room, now we have to bring it to the game as well.”
 
If the Swedes are to find that confidence, they’ll have to do it with their ears full of the Winnipeg crowd – most of which will be firmly behind Team USA. And you best believe that the American women felt – and heard – that flood of support on Monday, when at least 10,000 American visitors filled up the stadium to cheer for their side.
 
Still, as the Americans prepare for a titanic battle against Sweden, American defender Meghan Klingenberg had just one small request for their faithful. “If they could keep it down a little bit when I’m giving instructions to (Megan) Rapinoe, that would be great,” Klingenberg said with a sly grin, at a jam-packed press conference on Thursday.
 
Friday night’s tilt between the Americans and Swedes is one of the most hotly anticipated matches of the group stage. The Americans are in the driver’s seat of Group D after their opening 3-1 win over Australia, while Sweden is still reeling from Monday’s match that ended in a draw against the 33rd-ranked Nigerian side.
 
Of course, that means Team Nigeria is flying high, as they look ahead to their Friday match against Australia. “Everyone’s like, ‘Nigeria’s in the group of death,’” said Nigerian striker Francisca Ordega, who scored the critical goal on Monday to clinch a 3-3 tie. “For me, it’s not a group of death, it’s a group of survival.”
 
In an emotional moment,  Ordega described how that spirit helped push Nigeria to not only hold their own, but excel against a leading Swedish side. With Friday’s tilt against Australia looming, the Nigerians don’t plan to let up. “We always agreed on one thing, that this time around it’s going to be a different thing altogether,” Ordega said. “We want something different. We want to give our country another impression, and not just our country but the whole world.”
 
Meanwhile, Team Australia head coach Alen Stajcic thinks the “group of death” could be even tougher than originally thought. When the Nigerians pushed the Swedes to a draw, Stajcic thought the young African squad could easily have won. “I think Nigeria showed they’re a quality opponent,” Stajcic said. “I’ve seen this (Nigerian) team evolve over two to three years, probably going back to the 2010 youth World Cup. Certainly there’s no surprises on the talent of the team. There’s no surprises. They played as I expected they would, really electric, powerful upfront. No surprises, and just watching the Sweden game was what I expected, to be honest.”
 
Before Monday’s match, Swedish head coach Pia Sundhage said her squad had trouble drumming up film on the Nigerian side. But Stajcic said the Matildas have seen plenty, going back to U20 games from which much of the Nigerian team recently graduated. The coach thought his team has a slight edge in speed and fitness, and he was pleased with what he saw in his group’s 3-1 loss against a juggernaut American squad.
“There’s a lot of belief in this team, and I think we showed that,” Stajcic said. “They deserved their victory, but from a team context and a performance context, we get a lot of belief.”