Sweden: Stina Blackstenius
The name should sound familiar to U.S. fans — it was Stina Blackstenius, then just 20, who scored the goal that helped Sweden dump the U.S. women’s national team out of the 2016 Olympics en route to a remarkable silver medal at those Games.
She also scored in the gold medal match against Germany.
Now age 23, Blackstenius has enjoyed successful spells with both Linköpings FC in her native country and Montpellier in France, so she’ll be used to the territory when the World Cup kicks off for Sweden on June 11.
She’s yet to match the heights she reached at the youth level — where she scored 53 goals in 50 matches for the U-17, U-19 and U-20 teams — but she represents the future of the Blue-Yellow’s attack, and this World Cup is another chance to both announce her talent on the world stage and break the hearts of Americans everywhere.
