Sweden's captain assesses state of national team

She's preparing for her fourth World Cup

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Ten years on from first captaining the Sweden national team, Caroline Seger is preparing for what will be her fourth FIFA Women’s World Cup™, a tournament in which she has not exactly enjoyed the best of luck. No wonder then that she is looking forward to France 2019 with enthusiasm and considerable ambition.

"Expectations are very high," Seger said to FIFA.com right off the bat. "I think we’re a very good team, but not yet as good as we can become."

A fourth place finish at the recent Algarve Cup would indeed suggest that Sweden are on a learning curve, but the veteran midfielder is not rushing to judgement on her team’s performances there. "We racked up the goals against Switzerland when everyone was saying we weren’t scoring enough. Then after losing to Portugal, people were saying we didn’t know how to defend well... It’ll always be like that. However, we have confidence in our football. We just need to keep working on what our coaching staff tell us, both in defence and attack, and continue to bolster our self-confidence."

Major tournament record

Olympic Games: 2008 (quarters), 2012 (quarters), 2016 (silver medal)

2008 (quarters), 2012 (quarters), 2016 (silver medal) European Championship: 2005 (semis), 2009 (quarters), 2013 (semis), 2017 (quarters)

2005 (semis), 2009 (quarters), 2013 (semis), 2017 (quarters) FIFA Women’s World Cup: 2007 (group phase), 2011 (bronze medal), 2015 (last 16)

'Confidence' is a word the Rosengard player uses often and something she feels will be key to her side's preparation for France. Looking ahead to the tournament, she sets herself and her team-mates a challenge.

"We have very quick players in attack and we can be lethal on the break. However, I hope we can see a different Sweden from previous World Cups. By that I mean a team that can dominate possession and control the game, and not just one that can defend and do well on the counterattack. I hope we'll also be good in possession at this World Cup."