Lina Therese Nilsson (born 17 June 1987) is a Swedish retired

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played for

FC Rosengård FC Rosengård, formerly Malmö FF Dam (1970–2007) and LdB FC Malmö (2007–2013), is a professional football club based in Malmö, Scania, Sweden. The team was established as Malmö FF Dam in 1970. It started out with playing 7 seasons in th ...

and the Sweden national team. Normally a full-back, she can also play as a wide

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. She joined Malmö FF Dam in 2006 and has remained with the club through its different guises as LdB FC and FC Rosengård. Since winning her first Sweden

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

in July 2009, Nilsson has represented her country in the 2009 and

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editions of the

UEFA Women's Championship The UEFA European Women's Championship, also called the UEFA Women's Euro, held every four years, is the main competition in women's association football between national teams of the UEFA confederation. The competition is the women's equivalen ...

, as well as the 2011 and 2015 FIFA Women's World Cups. She also played at the

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Olympic football tournament Football at the Summer Olympics, referred to as the Olympic Football Tournament, has been included in every Summer Olympic Games as a men's competition sport, except 1896 (the inaugural Games) and 1932 (in an attempt to promote the new FIFA Wo ...

. On 5 October 2017, she announced her retirement from her playing career.

Club career

Nilsson began her career with smaller teams in her native Skåne County, before she arrived at local

Damallsvenskan The Damallsvenskan, Swedish for ''ladies all-Swedish'' and also known as OBOS Damallsvenskan for sponsorship reasons, is the highest division of women's football in Sweden. It is also referred to as the women's Allsvenskan. The term Allsvenskan ...

club Malmö FF Dam in 2006. She had already been training once a week with Malmö while playing for Sjöbo IF in the lower leagues. Lina Nilsson (21770424545)

Consistent right-back Nilsson was one of four players to collect winner's medals from each of the club's championship wins in 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2014. In August 2015, team captain Lina Nilsson signed a two-year contract extension with the club, now known as FC Rosengård.

International career

As a member of the Sweden under-19 team, Nilsson played in three matches at the

2006 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship The UEFA Women's U-19 Championship 2006 Final Tournament was held in Switzerland between 11–22 July 2006. Germany won the cup after defeating France 3–0 in the final match. Players born after 1 January 1987 were eligible to participate in this ...

in Switzerland. She made her senior debut in July 2009, as a 55th-minute substitute for Anna Paulson in a 2–0 friendly win over China at

Stadsparksvallen Stadsparksvallen, locally sometimes called ''Vallen'', is a classic sports facility located in Jönköping, Sweden. Stadsparksvallen was inaugurated in 1902 and is located in the Jönköping City Park, atop a mountain located west of the city. I ...

Jönköping Jönköping (, ) is a city in southern Sweden with 112,766 inhabitants (2022). Jönköping is situated on the southern shore of Sweden's second largest lake, Vättern, in the province of Småland. The city is the seat of Jönköping Municipa ...

. She almost marked her debut with a goal, but her shot hit the

crossbar Crossbar may refer to: Structures * Latch (hardware), a post barring a door * Top tube of a bicycle frame * Crossbar, the horizontal member of various sports goals * Crossbar, a horizontal member of an electricity pylon Other * In electronic ...

. National

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

Thomas Dennerby selected Nilsson for

UEFA Women's Euro 2009 The 2009 UEFA Women's Championship, or just Women's Euro 2009, was played in Finland between 23 August and 10 September 2009. The host was appointed on 11 July 2006, in a UEFA Executive Committee meeting in Berlin and the Finnish proposal won over ...

, where she appeared in three matches. She retained her squad place for the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup in Germany, but

Annica Svensson Annica Birgitta Teres Svensson (born 3 March 1983) is a Swedish former football defender who last played in Sweden for Eskilstuna United DFF. She previously played for Tyresö FF, and spent the second half of the 2013 season on loan at Vitts ...

was installed as the first-choice right-back. Nilsson did not feature until the quarter-final, where she was a late substitute in Sweden's 3–1 win over Australia. Sweden's third-place finish at the World Cup ensured qualification for the

2012 London Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. Nilsson started two of Sweden's Group F games and was a substitute in the other one. Her two

yellow cards Yellow card may refer to: * Yellow card (sport), shown in many sports after a rules infraction or, by analogy, a serious warning in other areas * Yellowcard, an American alternative rock band * Yellow Card Scheme, a United Kingdom initiative conce ...

meant she was suspended for the quarter-final and Annica Svensson played in the 2–1 defeat by

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

at Hampden Park in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

. Incoming national coach

Pia Sundhage Pia Mariane Sundhage (, born 13 February 1960) is a Swedish football manager and former professional player. She is the head coach of the Brazil women's national team. As a player, Sundhage played most of her career as a forward and retired a ...

retained Nilsson and selected her in the squad for

UEFA Women's Euro 2013 The 2013 UEFA Women's Championship, commonly referred to as Women's Euro 2013, was the 11th European Championship for women's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held in Sweden from 10 to 28 July 2013, became the mos ...

, which Sweden hosted. After recovering from a foot injury, Nilsson played in two of Sweden's three

Group A Group A is a set of motorsport regulations administered by the FIA covering production derived vehicles intended for competition, usually in touring car racing and rallying. In contrast to the short-lived Group B and Group C, Group A vehicles ...

matches. Sundhage selected youngster Jessica Samuelsson at right-back for the knockout matches against

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. In April 2014, Nilsson scored her first international goal, on the occasion of her 50th cap. It came in Sweden's 4–0 World Cup qualifying win over

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

Shamrock Park Shamrock Park is a football stadium in Portadown, County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is the home ground of Portadown F.C. Shamrock Park was previously used for stock-car racing, but this has since been discontinued. The stadium is classed as ...

Portadown Portadown () is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town sits on the River Bann in the north of the county, about southwest of Belfast. It is in the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council area and had a population of a ...

. She added further goals in the return match with Northern Ireland and against

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

. Ahead of the

2015 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup was the seventh FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international soccer championship contested by the women's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament was hosted by Canada for the ...

, Sundhage experimented with Nilsson in an unfamiliar left-back role. The move was designed to accommodate converted forward

Elin Rubensson Elin Ingrid Johanna Rubensson (born 11 May 1993) is a Swedish football midfielder currently playing in the Damallsvenskan for BK Häcken and the Swedish National Team. She was part of and played an important role for Sweden at the Under 19 Cha ...

at right-back. Nilsson adapted quickly to her new role, although her momentary "blackout" cost the team a goal in a 2–1 pre-tournament friendly defeat by the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. Nilsson started Sweden's opening World Cup match at left-back, but struggled to contain

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

's winger Asisat Oshoala. Sweden surrendered a two-goal lead to draw 3–3. In Sweden's next match an improved performance secured a 0–0 draw with the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, with Nilsson pushed into a left-sided

midfield Midfield is the part of a sports field that lies approximately in the center. In American football, association football (soccer) and field hockey, it is the area in and around the center circle, as well as the players who occupy that region. In ...

role. In Sweden's 4–1 defeat by Germany in the second round, Nilsson replaced beleaguered left-back Samuelsson at half-time.

International goals

:''Scores and results list Sweden's goal tally first.''

Playing style

While naming his national team in 2009, coach Thomas Dennerby said of newly included Nilsson: "Lina is an attacking full-back who dares to go forward without neglecting her defensive duties." A '' Sveriges Radio'' preview of UEFA Women's Euro 2013 described Nilsson as more attacking and technical than her right-back rival Jessica Samuelsson, who was said to be more solid defensively. When handing Nilsson the FC Rosengård captaincy in 2015, coach Markus Tilly praised her on-pitch communication skills.

Honours

13 Nilsson Lina 130406 Sve-Isl 2-0 164543 0144

Club

;LdB FC Malmö / Rosengård *

(4): 2010, 2011,

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Svenska Supercupen Svenska Supercupen, ''Swedish Super Cup'', was a one-off fixture in Swedish football played between the Allsvenskan champions and the winners of Svenska Cupen. The fixture was played in November, after the Allsvenskan season. In the event of a ...

(3): 2011,

, 2015

International

; Sweden * FIFA Women's World Cup Third place: 2011

Notes

References

External links

* * *
National team profile
at

Swedish Football Association The Swedish Football Association ( sv, Svenska Fotbollförbundet, SvFF) is the governing and body of football in Sweden. It organises the football leagues – Allsvenskan for men and Damallsvenskan for women – and the men's and women's nat ...

(SvFF) *
archive
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nilsson, Lina 1987 births Living people Swedish women's footballers Sweden women's international footballers 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup players 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup players Footballers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers of Sweden FC Rosengård players People from Ystad Municipality Women's association football defenders Damallsvenskan players Sportspeople from Skåne County