Beaten by Spain in the last minutes in the semi-final of the Women’s World Cup on Tuesday (2-1), the Swedes expressed their remorse and their incomprehension after the performance of the Brazilian referee Edina Alves Batista.
Sweden fell again on Tuesday. Accustomed to playing the leading roles in the final phase of the Women’s World Cup, Peter Gerardsson’s players have once again failed to qualify for the World Cup final for their fifth meeting in the last four. The fault of a goal from Olga Carmona one minute after the equalizer from Rebecka Blomqvist, but not only, according to the Olympic vice-champions.
>> Relive Spain-Sweden (2-1)
After the final whistle, the Swedes did not hide their anger over the performance of referee Edina Alves Batista. They accuse him in particular of having granted the first goal to Salma Paralluelo, while Eva Navarro was in a passive offside position. “I didn’t see the goal, I only heard that there was a Spanish offside. I really hope they (the referees) made the right decision, because if there is a mistake, I’m going crazy, cursed Amanda Ilestedt in mixed zone. For every situation she whistled at us, I didn’t understand a thing. I don’t think she has a good level at all. That’s not why we lost the match but I think she has to be better.”
“She spoke the same language as them”
On his side, Johanna Kaneryd believes that the Brazilian referee “laughed in the face” of the Swedes. “She spoke the same language as them and it gave them a lot of advantages. I’m pissed, annoyed and angry and I have all kinds of emotions. I got no response other than her smile. J ‘stop talking because I’m going to talk nonsense’.
As a good captain, Kosovare Asllani used a more calm speech, but keeps the same thought as her teammates. “There are a lot of referees who haven’t been receptive, communication needs to be improved. I try to speak English with them, but I don’t get much in return. I think in a World Cup , there should be the best referees.”
Assisting on Blomqvist’s equalizer, Lina Hurtig denounces the behavior of the Roja players, “who dive too easily” for her taste, and unwhistled faults for her team, “which could have generated opportunities”.
A new place of honor
With this new setback at the gates of the final, the cruel outcome is repeated for Sweden, which loses a third consecutive World Cup semi-final, after 2011 and 2019, not to mention the semi-final lost last year at the Euro . “Everyone feels sadness, and huge disappointment,” admitted coach Peter Gerhardsson, who promised his “best team” for Saturday’s small final in Brisbane.
The Scandinavians, who had eliminated the Americans in the eighth round, double defending champions (0-0, 5-4 pens) then Japan in the quarterfinals (2-1), left the competition against a less experienced opponent, and against whom they had never lost in eleven confrontations. They will try to console themselves with a fourth bronze medal in the World Cup. Not the metal they were hoping for.