WELLINGTON (AFP) – Captain Kosovare Asllani warned her Sweden team won’t back down in the face of Italy’s physical approach when the two unbeaten sides clash at the Women’s World Cup on Saturday.
A victory for either will be enough to qualify for the knockout phase from Group G but Italy-based Asllani said her team will need to come through a rigorous examination.
Third-ranked Sweden dug deep and found a 90th-minute winner in their 2-1 defeat of South Africa in their opener, while 16th-ranked Italy also left it late before beating Argentina 1-0.
A 2-2 draw between Argentina and South Africa on Friday leaves the two European teams as favourites to advance from the group.
Experienced AC Milan midfielder Asllani – the only outfield Swedish player in Italy’s top flight – has warned her team-mates to expect some old-fashioned Italian treatment in Wellington.
“I’m quite used to that type of football. It’s very focused on man-marking and we know that there will be tough situations,” she said.
“The duels are very important. We expect them to come in very close… but other spaces will open for us as a result.
“We never turn down the offer of a physical game so we’re very much looking forward to it.”
