Sweden 'don't fear' England at Euro 2025 - Asllani

Sweden captain Kosovare Asllani says they "don't fear" England as the teams prepare to meet in the Euro 2025 quarter-finals on Thursday.

Defending champions England are ranked fifth in the world, just one place above Sweden, who finished top of their group.

Peter Gerhardsson's side picked up the maximum nine points, ending their group games with an impressive 4-1 win over Germany.

Following England's 6-1 victory over Wales, midfielder Ella Toone told ITV Sport Sweden "should be scared" - but Asllani disagrees.

"We respect England, the team they have and everything they have achieved so far. But fear? No. We don't have the word fear in our dictionary," said Asllani.

"We look up the word courage. Of course you have to respect one of the best sides in the world but we have the perfect gameplan for this match.

"We want to achieve the football we want to represent. In our minds there is only one outcome and that is to win the game."

Sweden have been one of the standout performers in the tournament and England captain Leah Williamson said they "deserved a little bit more recognition".

Alongside England and France, Sweden have reached the quarter-finals at all five major tournaments since 2017.

"I feel like Sweden are always flying under the radar. It kind of suits us," said London City Lionesses midfielder Asllani.

"Obviously we think we're one of the best teams in the world from what we have been doing. But people rarely speak about us as [a team] who can win gold.

"We know we can beat any team in the world when we have our best day. People should definitely talk about us more."

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'James is also a special player'

England beat Sweden 4-0 in the Euro 2022 semi-finals, but the teams drew twice in the Euro 2025 qualifiers last year.

Sweden manager Gerhardsson is aware of England's threats and said he was happy he personally did not have to play against Chelsea forward Lauren James.

The 23-year-old has scored two goals in three games and was a handful against the Netherlands and Wales.

"She is one of these players - we trained for Pernille Harder for Denmark, Ewa Pajor for Poland is a special one, Lea Schuller for Germany is a special one - James is also a special player," said Gerhardsson.

"I like that kind of player because she has something special, movement and things like that, but she's doing the things she thinks are right on the pitch.

"As a coach sometimes, you want structure - 'do that, do that'. But James, even if she listens to the coach, she makes her own decisions.

"Every coach likes that kind of player. But I hope we can handle her."

'I like to attack, but also defend'

Sweden recorded the most open-play crosses during the group stage (61) and are known for their aerial threat.

Arsenal forward Stina Blackstenius is among the key players, alongside Chelsea winger Johanna Rytting Kaneryd, with 65% of Sweden's chances created down her right flank.

"Johanna is probably the person I get on best with at Chelsea. She is one of my best friends there. The thing with Johanna is probably her mindset," said England defender Lucy Bronze.

"She is very competitive. I've seen that this season at Chelsea. She will run through a brick wall for her team. How to stop her? Hopefully she's on the other side to me."

Bronze is usually an attacking full-back for England but she could have her hands full against former Barcelona team-mate Fridolina Rolfo on Thursday night.

Asked if she will have to adapt the way she plays, Bronze said: "I do whatever [manager Sarina Wiegman] tells me. I am in the positions that benefit the team.

"Yeah, I like to attack, but I also like to defend. We know the threat Sweden has in a lot of those wide positions, but at the same time we're a good team.

"We don't want to change too much because we want to focus on our strengths and what we can bring to the game."

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