Magdalena Eriksson and Sweden won 1-0 against Canada in their last-16 match last night, and the Blues player spoke to the official Chelsea website about the victory that earned them a spot in the quarter-finals.
It was a game of two halves as Canada looked the more dangerous side in the first 45 minutes. However, Sweden found their rhythm and turned up the tempo after the break, which resulted in beating the North Americans in front of 38,078 fans at Paris’ Parc des Princes.
The Blues defender summed up Sweden's performance: ‘We really struggled in the first half, they made it difficult for us. We had trouble solving the way they played, but I’m so happy because we didn’t concede from any of their chances in the first half.
‘We managed to keep them away from our goal and we spoke at half-time and changed a few things. We came out as a new team, and I’m really proud of how we adapted.
‘I think Canada are a good team, they are really well coached and you could see that they practised a pattern of play. They played it really well so all credit to Canada, technically they are really good,’ she commented.
During the victory, Hedvig Lindahl, who recently departed Chelsea, pulled off a superb penalty save in the later stages of the match to preserve Sweden's narrow 1-0 lead.
‘I think Viggy’s [Hedvig] save was the moment of the game, we then knew we had to keep a clean sheet; no mistakes could be made. She had done her job so it was time for us to do our job and just keep that clean sheet.’
France 2019 is Eriksson’s debut World Cup tournament and so far she has played her part in four out of five matches. The 25-year-old is optimistic about facing Germany in the quarter-finals of the tournament.
'I’m super proud; it was such a great team performance, we really did it together, we stuck together even though we had some trouble in the first half. It's just the way we play in Sweden, we work hard for each other,’ she said.
‘It’s going to be a very tough game on Saturday, of course, but I think it’s about time we beat them and I have a good feeling. I have watched Germany, so I feel like I have a clear idea of how the game could go, they are a very strong team but I know we have the capability to break them down.’
Should Sweden beat Germany on 29 June, their semi-final opponents will either be Italy, China, the Netherlands or Japan.
The quarter-final clash between Sweden and Germany is a 5.30 kick-off (UK time) at Roazhon Park, Rennes.