Lotta Schelin

Although Schelin was born in Stockholm, her family moved away from the capital when she was two years old.[8] With her father Kjell and mother Nina,[9] she grew up in Kållered outside Gothenburg and began to play football for Kållereds SK along with her older sister, Camilla.[10] She has also played for Hällesåkers IF and Mölnlycke IF. Schelin was also adept at sports including table-tennis, track and field, and snowboarding before opting to focus on football full-time. As a teenager, she developed problems with her spine and was advised to stop playing the sport. Schelin went through intensive strength training and recovered by the time she turned 17.[11] She credited her sister and former teammate Camilla and Tina Nordlund as important role models for her.[12]

In March 2004 Schelin scored twice on her debut for the Swedish under-21 team, in their 6–0 win over the full Republic of Ireland national team in Dublin.[34] She previously scored three goals in six appearances for Sweden's under-16 team and two goals in seven appearances for the under-18s.[35]

Schelin in April 2013

Schelin made her senior national team debut for Sweden on 16 March 2004; a 3–0 Algarve Cup defeat by France.[36] In the fifth place play-off against China, Schelin was praised for scoring in Sweden's penalty shootout win after a 1–1 draw.[37] She had been called into the squad as a replacement for Sara Johansson who had flu.[34] Schelin retained her place and represented her nation at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. Throughout this period, Schelin endured injuries to the groin and hamstring, which required extensive rest. She was selected by coach Marika Domanski-Lyfors for UEFA Women's Euro 2005 in North West England. She entered play as a second-half substitute but failed to score as Sweden lost 3–2 to rivals Norway in extra time of the semi-final in Warrington.[38]

Schelin was a key player in the 2006 edition of the Algarve Cup; leading Sweden to their third-place finish. She scored the only goal in the bronze medal victory over France. After overcoming her injury problems, Schelin was awarded the Diamond Ball as the country's best female football player.[39] That same year, she was named the Forward of the Year in the Damallsvenskan. Schelin's success brought her to mainstream attention in her country and she was rewarded with selection to attend the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup draw in China on behalf of Sweden.

At the World Cup in China, Schelin scored two goals in three matches (one start) but Sweden unexpectedly failed to progress out of their group. After that failure some experienced players retired and coach Thomas Dennerby gave Schelin and other younger players a more prominent role in the team.[40] Back in China the following year for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, she contributed three goals in four games but the Swedes lost 2–0 to Germany in the quarter-final.

Schelin helped Sweden to a bronze medal position at the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup in Germany and was named in the All-Star Team. She featured in Sweden's 3–1 semi-final defeat to eventual winners Japan in Frankfurt. Sweden secured third place by beating France 2–1 in Sinsheim, Schelin scoring her second goal of the tournament. Third place also ensured Sweden's qualification for the 2012 Olympic football tournament in London. Dennerby kept Schelin in Sweden's Olympic squad for London,[41] where they lost to France in the quarter-finals. Schelin scored twice in four matches but felt Dennerby's emphasis on defence had left her isolated in Sweden's attack.[42]

Marked by Germany's Jennifer Cramer in the Euro 2013 semi-final

In October 2012, new national team coach Pia Sundhage decided that Schelin and Caroline Seger would share the captaincy.[43] Sundhage named Schelin in the squad for UEFA Women's Euro 2013, which Sweden hosted.[44] Schelin finished as the tournament top scorer with five goals but was disappointed when Sweden lost 1–0 to Germany in the semi-final.[45] She criticised the decision of Swiss referee Esther Staubli, who disallowed her equalising goal for a very questionable foul on Germany's centre-back Annike Krahn.[46] Schelin's goal against Germany in October 2014's 2–1 home friendly defeat was her 73rd goal for Sweden, which broke the national record previously set by Hanna Ljungberg.[47]

Schelin arrived at the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup suffering from persistent knee pain. In Sweden's opening game she was unable to make any impression on Nigeria's defence, as the Africans recovered from 3–1 down to draw 3–3.[48] In the team's 4–1 second round loss to Germany, goalkeeper Hedvig Lindahl made several saves to prevent an even heavier defeat for the disorganised Swedes.[49]

With 165 caps and 84 goals, Schelin was the most experienced member of Sweden's 18-player squad for the 2016 Summer Olympics.[35] When the team suffered a record 5–1 defeat by hosts Brazil in the second match, Schelin scored the late consolation goal and tried to lift the spirits of her demoralised teammates.[50] In the quarter-final against the United States, captain Schelin had an extra-time goal incorrectly ruled out for offside and the match finished 1–1. She scored in Sweden's penalty shootout win.[51] Sweden reached the gold medal match, but lost 2–1 to Germany. Schelin was disappointed by the defeat but proud to win a silver medal.[52]

Matches and goals scored at World Cup & Olympic tournaments

Key (expand for notes on "world cup and olympic goals")
Location	Geographic location of the venue where the competition occurred
Lineup	Start – played entire match on minute (off player) – substituted on at the minute indicated, and player was substituted off at the same time off minute (on player) – substituted off at the minute indicated, and player was substituted on at the same time (c) – captain
Min	The minute in the match the goal was scored. For list that include caps, blank indicates played in the match but did not score a goal.
Assist/pass	The ball was passed by the player, which assisted in scoring the goal. This column depends on the availability and source of this information.
penalty or pk	Goal scored on penalty-kick which was awarded due to foul by opponent. (Goals scored in penalty-shoot-out, at the end of a tied match after extra-time, are not included.)
Score	The match score after the goal was scored.
Result	The final score. W – match was won L – match was lost to opponent D – match was drawn (W) – penalty-shoot-out was won after a drawn match (L) – penalty-shoot-out was lost after a drawn match
aet	The score at the end of extra-time; the match was tied at the end of 90' regulation
pso	Penalty-shoot-out score shown in parentheses; the match was tied at the end of extra-time
	Orange background color – Olympic women's football tournament
	Blue background color – FIFA women's world cup final tournament

Goal	Match	Date	Location	Opponent	Lineup	Min	Score	Result	Competition
Athens 2004 Women's Olympic Football Tournament
	1	17 August 2004[m 1]	Volos	Nigeria	46. on 46' (off Sjögran)			2–1 W	Group match
	2	23 August 2004[m 2]	Patras	Brazil	72. on 72' (off Sjögran)			0–1 L	Semi Final
	3	26 August 2004[m 3]	Piraeus	Germany	76. on 76' (off Bengtsson)			0–1 L	Bronze Medal Match
China 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup
	4	11 September 2007[m 4]	Chengdu	Nigeria	83. off 83' (on Forsberg)			1–1 D	Group match
	5	14 September 2007[m 5]	Chengdu	United States	Start			0–2 L	Group match
1	6	18 September 2007[m 6]	Tianjin	North Korea	Start	4	1–0	2–1 W	Group match
2						54	2–1
Beijing 2008 Women's Olympic Football Tournament
3	7	6 August 2008[m 7]	Tianjin	China	Start	38	1–1	1–2 L	Group match
	8	9 August 2008[m 8]	Tianjin	Argentina	Start			1–0 W	Group match
4	9	12 August 2008[m 9]	Beijing	Canada	Start	19	1–0	2–1 W	Group match
5						51	2–0
	10	15 August 2008[m 10]	Shenyang	Germany	Start			0–2 L	Quarter-Final
Germany 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup
	11	28 June 2011[m 11]	Leverkusen	Colombia	Start			1–0 W	Group match
	12	2 July 2011[m 12]	Augsburg	North Korea	Start			1–0 W	Group match
	13	6 July 2011[m 13]	Wolfsburg	United States	Start			2–1 W	Group match
6	14	10 July 2011[m 14]	Augsburg	Australia	Start	52	3–1	3–1 W	Quarter-Final
	15	13 July 2011[m 15]	Frankfurt	Japan	Start			1–3 L	Semi-Final
7	16	16 July 2011[m 16]	Sinsheim	France	Start	29	1–0	2–1 W	Third Place Match
London 2012 Women's Olympic Football Tournament
8	17	25 July 2012[m 17]	Coventry	South Africa	73. off 73' (on Asllani)	21	3–0	4–1 W	Group match
9						63	4–1
	18	28 July 2012[m 18]	Coventry	Japan	Start			0–0 D	Group match
	19	31 July 2012[m 19]	Newcastle	Canada	Start			2–2 D	Group match
	20	3 August 2012[m 20]	Glasgow	France	Start			1–2 L	Quarter-Final
Canada 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup
	21	8 June 2015[m 21]	Winnipeg	Nigeria	Start			3–3 D	Group match
	22	12 June 2015[m 22]	Winnipeg	United States	Start			0–0 D	Group match
	23	16 June 2015[m 23]	Edmonton	Australia	Start			1–1 D	Group match
	24	20 June 2015[m 24]	Ottawa	Germany	Start			1–4 L	Round of 16
Rio de Janeiro 2016 Women's Olympic Football Tournament
	25	3 August 2016[m 25]	Rio de Janeiro	South Africa	Start			1–0 W	Group match
10	26	6 August 2016[m 26]	Rio de Janeiro	Brazil	Start	89	1–5	1–5 L	Group match
	27	9 August 2016[m 27]	Brasília	China	Start			0–0 D	Group match
	28	12 August 2016[m 28]	Brasília	United States	Start			1–1 (pso 4–3) (W)	Quarter-Final
	29	16 August 2016[m 29]	Rio de Janeiro	Brazil	Start			0–0 (pso 4–3) (W)	Semi-Final
	30	19 August 2016[m 30]	Rio de Janeiro	Germany	Start			1–2 L	Gold Medal Match

Matches and goals scored at European Championship tournaments

Goal	Match	Date	Location	Opponent	Lineup	Min	Score	Result	Competition
2005 European Championship
	1	5 June 2005[m 31]	Blackpool	Denmark	85. off 85' (on Öqvist)			1–1 D	Group match
	2	8 June 2005[m 32]	Blackpool	Finland	56. off 56' (on Öqvist)			0–0 D	Group match
	3	16 June 2005[m 33]	Warrington	Norway	49. on 49' (off Svensson)			2–3 L	Semi-Final
2009 European Championship
	4	25 August 2009[m 34]	Turku	Russia	Start			3–0 W	Group match
1	5	28 August 2009[m 35]	Turku	Italy	Start	9	1–0	2–0 W	Group match
	6	31 August 2009[m 36]	Turku	England	90. off 90' (on Lindén)			1–1 D	Group match
	7	4 September 2009[m 37]	Helsinki	Norway	Start			1–3 L	Quarter-Final
2013 European Championship
	8	10 July 2013[m 38]	Gothenburg	Denmark	Start			1–1 D	Group match
2	9	13 July 2013[m 39]	Gothenburg	Finland	Start	60	4–0	5–0 W	Group match
3						87	5–0
4	10	16 July 2013[m 40]	Halmstad	Italy	Start	49	2–0	3–1 W	Group match
5	11	21 July 2013[m 41]	Halmstad	Iceland	67. off 67' (on Konradsson)	19	3–0	4–0 W	Quarter-Final
6						59	4–0
	12	24 July 2013[m 42]	Gothenburg	Germany	Start			0–1 L	Semi-Final
2017 European Championship
	13	17 July 2017[m 43]	Breda	Germany	Start			0–0 D	Group match
7	14	21 July 2017[m 44]	Deventer	Russia	Start	22	1–0	2–0 W	Group match
8	15	25 July 2017[m 45]	Doetinchem	Italy	Start	14	1–1	2–3 L	Group match
	16	29 July 2017[m 46]	Doetinchem	Netherlands	Start			0–2 L	Quarter-Final

In June 2015 Schelin described herself as "not a typical center-forward" as she likes to drop deep or go wide in order to find space: "I always think of the collective because the danger can come from all players. Even if I do not score, I pass, I run to attract defenders. In the end, I want to win." She attributes her unselfish play to her upbringing in communal Swedish culture. After moving to Lyon, her instinct to pass to better-placed teammates annoyed her coach Farid Benstiti, who wanted her to concentrate on converting chances herself.[18] Sweden's former coach Thomas Dennerby felt that Schelin became more comfortable on the ball after moving to Lyon, but retained her pace and ability in one-on-one situations.[80]

Schelin is capable of playing as a winger. But when Dennerby deployed her wide in the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup, her Göteborg coach Martin Pringle called for her to be given a more central role: "she is too good a player to play out there".[81] China's coach Shang Ruihua highlighted Schelin as Sweden's best player ahead of the countries' opening match at the 2008 Summer Olympics: "Schelin has fast pace and excellent technique, and few defenders could keep up with her."[82] Although tall and slender, she is also physically strong; England captain Steph Houghton rated Schelin as the "toughest opponent" of her career.[83]

As a tall, skilful and prolific Swedish forward, Schelin has frequently drawn comparison with the contemporary male footballer Zlatan Ibrahimović.[85] Former Denmark national team manager Peter Bonde branded Schelin "the female Zlatan" in 2005.[86] In December 2013, Ibrahimović made an outspoken rejection of any comparison: "I was asked [by Swedish media] in the summer who was the better player, me or Lotta Schelin. You're kidding me, right? When I've broken all these records, this goal record, the goals in the national team, who shall I compare it to? Shall I compare it to whoever has the record, or the ladies?" Schelin's national team coach Pia Sundhage described his comments as sad and boring.[87] Johanna Frändén, a journalist specialising in coverage of Ibrahimović, noted Schelin's contrasting temperament: "She is polite, charming, she does not have the same arrogance".[29]

Schelin came out publicly as a lesbian in August 2018.[88] She has been married to her wife Rebecca since 2018.

Match reports

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lotta Schelin.

• Lotta Schelin – FIFA competition record (archived)
• Lotta Schelin – UEFA competition record (archive)
• Lotta Schelin at the Swedish Football Association (in Swedish) (archive 1, archive 2)
• Lotta Schelin national team profile at SvFF (in Swedish) (archived) (archive 1, archive 2)
• Player French football stats at statsfootofeminin.fr (in French)
• Profile at Olympique Lyonnais
• pre-2004 Olympic tournament interview with Lotta Schelin at SVT's open archive (in Swedish)
• Lotta Schelin at Soccerway