'I trust them completely': Asllani has faith in new Swedish defensive options

[p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/sweden/hGWL8MmL/"]Sweden[/a] will have to do without the injured duo of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bjorn-nathalie/dYR02bcj/"]Nathalie Bjorn[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/ilestedt-amanda/2FObBKgB/"]Amanda Ilestedt[/a], who have over 75 caps each, while they can no longer call upon centurions [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sembrant-linda/AVwQusDp/"]Linda Sembrant[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/eriksson-magdalena/rqVJm2o1/"]Magdalena Eriksson[/a] who have retired.[/p][p]Instead, Blagult will be reliant upon the likes of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/nelhage-elma/4zW2NMcf/"]Elma Junttila Nelhage[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/andersson-bella/YDWDJXd9/"]Bella Andersson[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/reidy-sofia/0zcBmF85/"]Sofia Reidy[/a] to feature at the heart of their defence. Nelhage holds all three caps that the trio have in total between them.[/p][p]Without a victory in their last five matches, stretching back to the Group Stage of UEFA Women's EURO 2025, it's hardly reassuring news for Sweden as [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/italy-fiD8utDF/sweden-hGWL8MmL/?mid=rwm2Mg1m"]they begin their Group A1 campaign against the Italians[/a] before [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/serbia-nysgULwS/sweden-hGWL8MmL/?mid=nVqJIB0C"]another away match[/a] in [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/serbia/nysgULwS/"]Serbia[/a] at the weekend.[/p][p]But [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/asllani-kosovare/0W5VGDc7/"]Asllani[/a], one of the highly-experienced players that are available, believes this is not a crisis, but a time for turning to the future.[/p][p][b]"It is clear that there are important players who are not available,"[/b] she said in the pre-match press conference, but is clearly excited about the new additions: [b]"It's fantastic that we still produce defenders like these. It's absolutely crazy."[/b][/p][p][b]"You can't go around here being worried. I trust them completely. I was thinking about it in training the other day that we have a lot of players away in the back line who have retired or are injured. And that it's amazing that we still get defenders like this, tall and stately."[/b][/p][embed guid="79a7f918-f27d-4228-afa0-7be4abd6b770" url="https://x.com/svenskfotboll/status/2028574125665477075" social-type="twitter" /][p]Head coach Tony Gustavsson admitted the defensive options will be a used as a stick to beat his side if they are defeated, but believes his squad can provide sufficient cover.[/p][p][b]"I think it will be a topic of conversation, especially if we lose. But we think there are very interesting central defender solutions in the squad we have, not just pure central defenders but also defensive midfielders and full-backs who we assess can play central defenders."[/b][/p][p]There is also a notable absentee for the Swedes in attack, as [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/blackstenius-stina/tvFnIayL/"]Stina Blackstenius[/a] has withdrawn from the squad for personal reasons. Gustavsson remains hopeful that the striker will be available for the Serbia game on Saturday 7th.[/p][p]"We wanted to give her until the last minute to be able to get into the squad (for the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/italy/fiD8utDF/"]Italy[/a] match). Out of respect for family reasons, I can't comment, but I had hope until the last minute."[/p][p]"Right now my thoughts are with her because it's about something other than football," he added.[/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/soccer/world/world-cup-women/"]Follow the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup Qualifiers on Flashscore.[/a][/b][/p]