By Philip O’Connor
(Reuters) – Sweden’s Elin Rubensson says she is ready to step in and replace injury-plagued midfield talisman Caroline Seger as her side kick off their Women’s World Cup campaign against South Africa in New Zealand on Sunday.
Included in Peter Gerhardsson’s 23-player squad despite a lengthy struggle to overcome a stubborn calf problem, defensive midfield stalwart Seger is unlikely to be fit to start, opening the door for the 30-year-old Rubensson to step in and take over.
“I have played a lot as a defensive midfielder the last year and it’s a role that is a lot of fun,” Rubensson told Swedish state broadcaster SVT on Friday.
“That’s where I have been training most now too, I’m doing as well as I can in every training session and I’m hoping to play,” she added.
However, Rubensson brushes off the idea of being second-best in any position and insists that if she starts, she will do so on her own merits.
“I never see myself as a replacement, I do everything to be a starting player and I always train to be a starting player. When I play I do as well as I can and start from there,” she said.
Rubensson said she would rely on her range of passing and previous experience if she is picked to play instead of Seger, who has set the tone with her metronomic midfield passing for over a decade as she became Sweden’s most experienced international with 235 caps.
“I have played a lot as a back, so I have that defensive mindset too, but other than that, passing, speed and that I can sit in and control defensively and help the backline,” she explained.
The Swedes face South Africa and Italy in Wellington, New Zealand, before moving to Hamilton to face Argentina in their final Group G game.
(Reporting by Philip O’Connor, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
