I always eventually think of Sweden when someone unfamiliar with the game asks who the best teams in the world are. Maybe it’s because the US always seems to play them in a major tournament, or because they always seem to show up in the knockout stage. They’re historically good, but not great, and they’ve never won an Olympics or World Cup. They’ve been runners-up at both competitions, and they have two World Cup third places and an Olympics fourth place. I don’t think that’s going to change this year.
This is probably the World Cup swansong for stalwarts like goalkeeper Hedvig Lindvahl, defenders Linda Sembrandt and Nilla Fischer, and midfielder Caroline Seger, who are 36, 32, 34, and 34 respectively.