The story of Kosovare Asllani’s rise (2024)

• Goalless after cagey first half.
• Paralluelo gave Spain the lead (81'). But Blomqvist levelled late on (88').
• Carmona then scored a superb goal to restore Spain's lead (90').
• Spain will play host nation Australia or European champions England in the final.
• Here's where you can buy tickets to upcoming World Cup matches

Kosovare Asllani is set to lead Sweden out in their World Cup semi-final against Spain today.

When Asllani made her debut for Sweden 15 years ago, there was no doubt about her level of talent. Few, however, would have predicted she would one day wear the captain’s armband at a World Cup.

Asllani was the opposite of a captain; a talented attacker but also a loose cannon, forever getting herself into trouble in the media and sometimes with her club too,

A decade on, Asllani has matured into a dependable leader. While Swedish stalwart Caroline Seger is still officially the captain, her status as a backup means Asllani wears the armband, ahead of, for example, four-time Women’s Super League-winning skipper Magdalena Eriksson. Still outspoken off the pitch and still hugely influential on it, Asllani provides Sweden with the confidence and the ferocity that has sometimes been lacking.

More analysis below...

Spain head coach Jorge Vilda says his side are prepared for a penalty shootout against Sweden in the World Cup semi-final

He said yesterday: “We think that penalties can be trained. We have been training for two months in case there is a penalty shoot-out so that the players have maximum confidence. Through analysis, we can anticipate the Swedish penalty takers.

“It is impossible to reproduce what is going to happen on a mental or psychological level. We can work on tools to make sure they arrive with maximum confidence. We are prepared for whatever comes.”

It is well known Sweden are a major threat at set pieces - Kudzi Musarurwa has written about Amanda Ilestedt, their centre-back who is in Golden Boot contention, below.

But this was not always the case.

Sweden have scored seven of their 11 goals at this tournament from set pieces (four from corners, two penalties and one free-kick). They scored only three times from corners across the previous three World Cups combined.

Starting XI: Musovic, Bjorn, Ilestedt, Eriksson, Andersson; Angeldahl, Rubensson; Kaneryd, Asllani, Rolfo; Blackstenius.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

This starting XI has served Sweden well throughout the knockout stages, so it is more of the same for the semi-final.

Both teams are out on the pitch checking out the surface before the match.

A handful of players have stepped beyond enemy lines and one of those is Sweden's Fridolina Rolfo who has gone to hug her Barcelona teammates.

A major talking point for Spain is the status of two-time Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas.

Putellas hasn’t scored yet in this World Cup and came off the bench in the two knockout matches. She came into the tournament off an ACL injury and is still clearly looking for her best rhythm.

It is a strong show of faith in her from Jorge Vilda for her to be included in the starting XI today.

The path for these two teams to get here is a bit different. In the Round of 16, Spain blew past Switzerland, a team that like Spain had never won a knockout World Cup match going in. In the quarterfinals, Spain edged past Netherlands, which despite making the 2019 final is another relative newcomer to the upper tiers of the women’s game.

Meanwhile, Sweden took out the two most recent champions in its knockout matches. The Swedes escaped a wild penalty shootout against the two-time defending champion Americans in the Round of 16 and then beat 2011 champion Japan.

Starting XI: Coll, Carmona, Paredes, Codina, Batlle; Abelleira, Bonmati, Putellas; Redondo, Hermoso, Caldentey.

There are a couple of changes to the Spain team that overcame the Netherlands in the quarter-final as Alexia Putellas returns to the starting XI — she takes the place of Esther Gonzalez with Jenni Hermoso expected to push up into attack.

The other change is a forced one as the suspended Oihane Hernandez is replaced by Real Madrid's Olga Carmona.

Sweden are playing in their fifth Women’s World Cup semi-final. They reached the final in 2003 but fell at this stage in 1991, 2011 and 2019.

If they lose today, they will become the first team to lose four times at this stage of the competition.

This is the first Women’s World Cup meeting between Spain and Sweden.

Spain and Sweden have met at a major tournament only once before. Sweden ran out 1-0 winners in the group stages of Euro 1997.

Spain vs Sweden will get underway at 9am for those of you watching in the UK. In the US it’s even earlier (or a very late night) at 4am ET and 1am PT.

Eden Park, which is in Auckland, New Zealand, stages today’s game.

In the United Kingdom, the game will be shown live on BBC One, with coverage starting at 8.30am. The BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport website (both free with a subscription) will offer a live stream.

In the United States, the game will be shown on FOX and Telemundo.

Sweden coach Peter Gerhardsson said winger Sofia Jakobsson had been struggling with “mild symptoms of illness” over the weekend but should be fit enough to play.

He has no other availability concerns.

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Spain vs Sweden at the 2023 Women’s World Cup.

Sweden are the highest ranked side of the four teams left in the competition while Spain are competing in just their third World Cup.

The winners will take on Australia or England in Sunday’s final.

Stick with us for all the latest team news ahead of live coverage of the fixture itself.