ABBA was once the soundtrack to the Euros celebrations but the Swedish pop group have been vetoed from the England playlist ahead of their clash with Sweden
The Lionesses have banned ABBA from their changing room playlist as they prepare to clash with Sweden. But the Swedish pop group will only be vetoed for the quarter-final game on Thursday, as captain and ‘England DJ’ Leah Williamson admitted they were a good luck charm in 2022.
The Euros-winning squad that year even earned a message of congratulations from ABBA’s Bjorn Ulvaeus after videos of the players belting out Dancing Queen went viral. Several Lionesses have already described Leah, 28, from Newport Pagnell, Bucks. as the team DJ claiming ‘she has the best music taste’. But when England go head to head with the women in yellow and blue for a place in the semi-final, ABBA will be confined to the Swedish dressing room only.
Asked if she agrees with Swedish fans that ABBA are bigger than The Beatles, Leah frowned: “That’s a strong statement, I don’t agree I’m afraid. One may be easier to dance to but they’re not bigger.
“I don’t think they [ABBA] will be on the playlist ahead of the game. But it worked in 2022, so I don’t want to banish ABBA completely.”
Sweden were the first ever nation to win the Women’s Euros in 1984, but have never been able to regain the European Championship since. And after the Lionesses knocked Sweden out of the last Euros by thrashing them 4-0 in the semi-final, Sweden’s Jonna Andersson admitted doing the same to England on Thursday would feel like ‘revenge’.
“Of course it feels like revenge. It’s always that feeling,” she said. “We know what we can do and hopefully we can show them that we are up for this fight and that we are going to do everything we can to go out and win the game.”
But after England’s Ella Toone warned that Sweden ‘should be scared’ of England, Sweden’s Filippa Angeldahl defiantly responded: “We are not afraid.” The midfielder, 28, from Uppsala said: “I think everyone in the squad is looking forward to it incredibly. This is what we have been waiting for.”
But while the Lionesses kick back and relax in their 5* base camp, Sweden are cooped up in a sports complex. And although the training facilities at Sweden’s base are second to none, the On Your Marks hotel in Cham is far less plush than the luxurious Dolder Grand Hotel, nestled in the Adlisberg forest to the south of Zurich city.
The £1,000-a-night hotel, which has played host to Winston Churchill, the Rolling Stones and now the Lionesses also boasts a golf course and a world-class spa. And while the Lionesses were simply given keys to their rooms, the Sweden team has a hierarchy of ‘first choice’ to those with the most international caps.
The system is far from fool-proof having led to bickering in previous tournaments that boss Peter Andersson has been left to sort out. Speaking to Swedish media, Nathalie Björn revealed that the room selection went smoothly this time, but it hasn’t always been that way.
“Sometimes things have gone wrong, and then [Andersson] has had to fix it,” she said. “Anyone who has experienced this might point out: ‘Why does she have a nice view, and not me?’ Then he will have to deal with it.”