Sweden captain Magdalena Eriksson admits it will be "very difficult" to play against Lauren James ahead of their clash with the Lionesses at Wembley.
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Lionesses host Sweden at WembleyKick starts Euro 2025 qualifying campaignEriksson admits James is a big threatWHAT HAPPENED?
England kickstart their Euro 2025 qualifying campaign with a clash against Sweden at Wembley on Friday night. Sarina Wiegman's side are ranked second in the world whereas Peter Gerhardsson's team are sixth, so this should be a tight contest. Ahead of this encounter, centre-back Eriksson, who played at Chelsea between 2017-23 before joining Bayern Munich, is wary of coming up against her old team-mate.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesWHAT MAGDALENA ERIKSSON SAID
She said, via journalist Asif Burhan: "The fact she can play off both feet makes it very difficult to play against her. She has the ball really close to her feet. When she's at her best, she can look like she's unstoppable."
THE BIGGER PICTURE
James has risen to prominence in the past year or so, starring for both Chelsea and England. This season she has scored 15 goals for the Blues and for many teams she will be the one to watch due to her prodigious quality and goal threat.
GettyWHAT NEXT?
After England take on Sweden, they travel to Dublin to take on the Republic of Ireland in their second Euro 2025 qualifying match. The Lionesses also have third-ranked France in their group as they try to make it to next year's tournament in Switzerland.