How Arsenal’s Stina Blackstenius can help Sweden go all the way at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup

Before signing for women’s football giants Arsenal in early 2022, Stina Blackstenius had already racked up an impressive tally of 155 club goals since her senior career began with Vadstena GIF.

She had also appeared in two Olympic Games - once at Rio 2016 where she secured Sweden their silver medal, and then at Tokyo 2020 in 2021, where the Swedes again took second place, narrowly missing out on gold to Canada.

Blackstenius had even taken a small taste of World Cup success - scoring three in the qualifiers for FIFA 2019 Women’s World Cup and a further two throughout the tournament that ended with a third-place finish for her home country.

And since her arrival in North London, her wealth of experience has helped push Arsenal towards further success.

The Gunners have already picked up one piece of silverware this season, by beating Chelsea 3-1 in March 2023 for the English FA Women's League Cup. They are still in contention to win this year’s UEFA Women’s Champions League and are amongst a four-team title race in the Women’s Super League (WSL).

With Blackstenius well and truly settled into one of the most competitive leagues in the world, how can she use this experience to secure World Cup success for her country later this year?

Blackstenius and Arsenal

At the start of this 2022/23 season, Arsenal had quite the enviable attacking setup.

UEFA 2022 European Champion, Golden Boot Winner, and Player of the Tournament, Beth Mead, was firing on all cylinders and ready to hit the ground running following her success with England at the Euros.

Dutch star Vivianne Miedema was also ready to kick on from the European Championships and continue impressing for the club.

However both Mead and Miedema were hit with season-ending ACL tears in November and December, crushing their hopes of playing at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

The loss to two of attacking greats meant that a greater responsibility fell on the shoulders of Blackstenius who has, so far, dealt with the opportunity in impressive fashion.

**“**From the outside, everyone is looking at you to score,” Blackstenius told Sky Sports. “It's easy to get in a mindset where you feel pressure, but I focus on my game. I know that I can bring more to this team than just goals, but I also know that is my job.”

And providing more than just goals is exactly what she continues to do for Arsenal.

The Swedish striker has so far netted 12 goals for the Gunners since joining in 2022, compared to her season prior with Swedish top tier side BK Hacken FF when she managed an impressive 40 goals.

Despite difficulty in finding the back of the net, Blackstenius’ work rate continues to inspire her Arsenal teammates.

It was her belief, pressing. and nerve that recently helped pull Arsenal back from a 2-0 deficit to Wolfsburg in the first leg of their UEFA Women’s Champions League semi-final.

Goals from Rafaelle Souza and Blackstenius herself helped to pull the scoreline back to a 2-2 draw, to set up an exciting second-leg.

Blackstenius and Sweden

Sweden Women’s head coach, Peter Gerhardsson, is sure to be filled with confidence watching his striker command such games for her club - and will hope that she can replicate those performances for country.

Despite falling short in the semi-finals to England at last year’s 2022 UEFA Women’s Championships, it wasn’t without a strong tournament performance from Blackstenius.

Sweden started their tournament well, with one draw and two wins in the group stages including an impressive 5-0 win over Portugal where Blackstenius found herself on the score sheet.

The Arsenal striker narrowly missed out on claiming another goal in the quarter finals during a 1-0 win over Belgium when VAR ruled her offside, and England goalkeeper Mary Earps was required to pull off several spectacular saves to deny the Swedish striker in their semi-final clash.

With the experience of two Olympic silver medals, a FIFA Women’s World Cup third place finish, and a domestic silverware in both the WSL and Damallsvenskan under her belt, Blackstenius will step out onto the world stage this year with a wealth of experience, and perhaps more importantly, confidence in her ability to dictate a game.

Stina Blackstenius: Where to watch

Blackstenius is expected to start in Arsenal’s next Champions League game against Wolfsburg on May 1, 2023. Having already played the first leg of this semi-final fixture, the score is currently 2-2. The match will be available to stream via Youtube, Dazn, and UEFA's regional brodcast partners. More details are on the UEFA website.

Should Arsenal beat Wolfsburg, they will face either Barcelona or Chelsea in the UEFA Women’s Champions League Final in the Netherlands on June 3, 2023.

Arsenal have five domestic WSL league games left of the season, with the next on May 5, 2023 against Leicester. Those matches are available to watch via the FA Player.

Their final league home game of the season is on May 27, 2023 against Aston Villa.

Once the club season finishes in early June, Blackstenius will have a short break before joining her Swedish team mates in preparation for the FIFA 2023 Women’s World Cup.

Sweden kick off their campaign against South Africa on July 23, 2023. Full broadcast and streaming information will be confirmed ahead of the tournament, with all the information and latest news right here on Olympics.com throughout.