Elsa Amanda Nildén (; born 7 August 1998) is a Swedish professional

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 lea ...

who plays as a defender for

Women's Super League The Women's Super League (WSL), also known as the Barclays Women's Super League for sponsorship reasons, and formerly the FA WSL, is a professional association football league and the highest level of women's football in England. Currently oper ...

club

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

and the Sweden national team.

Club career

A versatile left-sided defender or

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

, she previously played in Sweden for

IF Brommapojkarna Idrottsföreningen Brommapojkarna, more commonly known as Brommapojkarna (meaning ''the Bromma boys'') or simply BP, is a Swedish association football, football club based in the borough of Bromma, in the western parts of Stockholm municipality ...

, AIK and Eskilstuna United. She has represented Sweden up to first team level. Nildén missed the entire 2015 season with an

anterior cruciate ligament injury An anterior cruciate ligament injury occurs when the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is either stretched, partially torn, or completely torn. The most common injury is a complete tear. Symptoms include pain, an audible cracking sound during in ...

. She signed for AIK in February 2017, emulating her father

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

and grandfather Jim who both played for the Stockholm club. On 2 August 2021, Nildén joined

Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...

. On 18 August, she made her debut in a 12–0 win against North Macedonian side Kamenica Sasa in the semi-finals of the first round of the

UEFA Women's Champions League The UEFA Women's Champions League, previously called the UEFA Women's Cup (2001–2009), is a European women's association football competition. It involves the top club teams from countries affiliated with the European governing body UEFA. ...

. Nildén joined

on 18 January 2024 on loan until June 2024. The loan was made permanent the same summer when Tottenham signed her on a three-year deal.

Personal life

Nildén's younger sister, Matilda Nildén, is also a professional footballer. She currently plays for

BK Häcken Bollklubben Häcken, more commonly known as BK Häcken or simply Häcken (), is a Swedish professional association football, football club based in Gothenburg (Hisingen). It currently plays in Allsvenskan, the top tier of Swedish football. Forme ...

in the

Damallsvenskan The (; ), known as OBOS for sponsorship reasons, is the highest division of women's football in Sweden. It is one of the best women's leagues in the world, and was founded in 1988. The division consists of a league of 14 teams. From 2013, t ...

. Nildén was in a long-term relationship with

Viktor Gyökeres Viktor Einar Gyökeres (; born 4 June 1998) is a Swedish professional association football, footballer who plays as a Striker (association football), striker for Primeira Liga club Sporting CP and the Sweden men's national football team, Sweden ...

, who is also a professional footballer.

References

External links

* * * * 1998 births Living people Women's association football defenders Brighton & Hove Albion W.F.C. players Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Women players Women's Super League players Swedish women's footballers AIK Fotboll (women) players Footballers from Stockholm IF Brommapojkarna (women) players Juventus FC (women) players Serie A (women's football) players Swedish expatriate women's footballers Swedish expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate women's footballers in England Swedish expatriate sportspeople in Italy Expatriate women's footballers in Italy Sweden women's international footballers UEFA Women's Euro 2022 players Sweden women's youth international footballers 21st-century Swedish sportswomen {{Sweden-footy-defender-stub