Åsa Nilla Maria Fischer (born 2 August 1984) is a Swedish former footballer. Her last club was Linköpings FC. She played in the Swedish national team between 2001 and 2022.[7] She was previously the captain of FC Rosengård. On 27 December 2022, she decided to retire.

Nilla Fischer
Nilla Fischer in May 2013
Personal information
Full name Åsa Nilla Maria Fischer[1]
Date of birth (1984-08-02) 2 August 1984 (age 40)[2]
Place of birth Kristianstad, Sweden[3]
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[2]
Position(s) Centre back, defensive midfielder
Youth career
Verums GoIF
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1998–2000 Vittsjö GIK (0)
2000–2003 Kristianstad/Wä DFF (0)
2003–2011 LdB FC Malmö 136 (24)
2012–2013 Linköping FC 33 (2)
2013–2019 VfL Wolfsburg 125 (11)
2019–2022 Linköping 49 (2)
International career
2000–2001 Sweden U17 12[4] (3[4])
2001–2004 Sweden U20 24[4] (4[4])
2001–2022 Sweden 189[a] (23[4])
Medal record
Women's soccer
Representing  Sweden
FIFA Women's World Cup
Bronze medal – third place 2011 Germany Team
Bronze medal – third place 2019 France Team
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2016 Rio de Janeiro Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22 April 2019 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 12 April 2022 (UTC)

Career

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Fischer won most of her caps for Sweden as a defensive midfielder after her debut versus Norway in January 2001.[8] She was converted to a centre back by coach Pia Sundhage in 2013.[9]

The change in position coincided with an upturn in goalscoring form for Fischer, who scored three times for hosts Sweden at UEFA Women's Euro 2013.[10] Her performances in Sweden's run to the semi-finals prompted a contract offer from European Champions VfL Wolfsburg and Fischer agreed to move to Germany from 1 January 2014.[11] In August 2013, the clubs reached a deal for "grateful" Fischer's immediate transfer.[12] Fischer played the first competitive game for her new side in the Bundesliga 2013–14 season opener against Bayern Munich in front of a home crowd of 8,249 fans on 7 September 2013.

On 28 March 2022 Fischer announced through her Instagram that she wouldn’t take part in the forthcoming Team Sweden campaign in UEFA Women's Euro 2022 on grounds that she didn’t want to spend most of the summer away from her family.[13] During the championship she appeared as a studio expert in the broadcasts from Swedish public service channel SVT.

On 27 September 2022, Nilla Fischer announced her retirement from Team Sweden.[14] On 12 December the same year, she announced her retirement from soccer, and that she would instead educate herself to become a police officer.[15]

Matches and goals scored at World Cup and Olympic tournaments

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Nilla Fischer has represented Sweden in four World Cups (China 2007, Germany 2011, Canada 2015, France 2019) and three Olympic Games (Beijing 2008, London 2012, Rio 2016.) Her squad finished in third place in two of those World Cups (2011 and 2019), and won a silver medal in Rio.

Twice during Olympic play she scored her team's only goal of the match, securing wins against Argentina in 2008 and South Africa in 2016.

Her 35th-minute goal against the USA on the final day of group play in the 2011 World Cup would prove to be the match winner. That result put Sweden atop their group, and is the only time the Americans have suffered defeat in the group stage of a World Cup.[16]

International goals

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Nilla Fischer playing for Sweden in October 2012
 
Nilla Fischer in 2015

Goal
Date Location Opponent Score Result Competition
1 2007-02-17 Larnaca, Cyprus   Scotland

1–0

1–0

Friendly
3 2008-03-05 Lagos, Portugal   Finland

0–2

1–3

2008 Algarve Cup
4 2008-05-03 Székesfehérvár, Hungary   Hungary

0–4

0–6

Euro 2009 qualifying
7 2009-03-06 Lagos, Portugal   Finland

1–0

1–0

2009 Algarve Cup
8 2009-03-09 Faro, Portugal   Germany

3–2

9 2010-03-03 Albufeira, Portugal   China

0–2

0–2

2010 Algarve Cup
10 2010-03-31 Broughton, Flintshire, Wales   Wales

0–1

0–4

2011 World Cup qualification
11 2011-07-06 Wolfsburg, Germany   United States

2–0

2–1

2011 FIFA Women's World Cup
12 2012-01-17 La Manga, Spain   Norway

0–1

0–2

Friendly
13 2012-07-25 Coventry, Great Britain   South Africa

1–0

4–1

Olympics 2012
19 2015-02-12 Uusimaa, Finland   Finland

0–3

0–3

Friendly
21 2016-08-03 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil   South Africa

1–0

1–0

Olympics 2016
22 2017-03-08 Albufeira, Portugal   Russia

2–0

4–0

2017 Algarve Cup
23 2017-10-24 Borås, Sweden   Hungary

5–0

2019 World Cup qualification
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
  China 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup
1
2007-9-14[m 1] Chengdu   United States 65.

on 65' (off Sjögran)

0–2 L

Group match
2
2007-9-18[m 2] Tianjin   North Korea Start

2–1 W

Group match
 Beijing 2008 Women's Olympic Football Tournament
3
2008-8-6[m 3] Tianjin   China 76.

off 76' (on Landström)

1–2 L

Group match
1
4
2008-8-9[m 4] Tianjin   Argentina Start 58 1–0

1–0 W

Group match
5
2008-8-12[m 5] Beijing   Canada 27.

off 27' (on Landström)

2–1 W

Group match
  Germany 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup
6
2011-6-28[m 6] Leverkusen   Colombia 69.

on 69' (off Seger)

1–0 W

Group match
7
2011-7-2[m 7] Augsburg   North Korea 86.

on 86' (off Sjögran)

1–0 W

Group match
2
8
2011-7-6[m 8] Wolfsburg   United States 88.

off 88' (on Sembrant)

35 2–0

2–1 W

Group match
9
2011-7-10[m 9] Augsburg   Australia 67.

on 67' (off Forsberg)

3–1 W

Quarter-Final
10
2011-7-16[m 10] Sinsheim   France 73.

off 73' (on Sembrant)

2–1 W

Third Place Match
 London 2012 Women's Olympic Football Tournament
3
11
2012-7-25[m 11] Coventry   South Africa 61.

off 61' (on Almgren)

7 1-0

4–1 W

Group match
12
2012-7-31[m 12] Newcastle   Canada 53.

off 53' (on Dahlkvist)

2–2 D

Group match
4
13
2012-8-3[m 13] Glasgow   France Start 18 1–0

1–2 L

Quarter-Final
  Canada 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup
5
14
2015-6-8[m 14] Winnipeg   Nigeria Start 31 2-0

3–3 D

Group match
15
2015-6-12[m 15] Winnipeg   United States Start

0–0 D

Group match
16
2015-6-16[m 16] Edmonton   Australia Start

1–1 D

Group match
17
2015-6-20[m 17] Ottawa   Germany Start

1–4 L

Round of 16
 Rio de Janeiro 2016 Women's Olympic Football Tournament
6
18
2016-8-3[m 18] Rio de Janeiro   South Africa Start 76 1–0

1–0 W

Group match
19
2016-8-6[m 19] Rio de Janeiro   Brazil Start

1–5 L

Group match
20
2016-8-9[m 20] Brasília   China 78.

off 78' (on Berglund)

0–0 D

Group match
21
2016-8-12[m 21] Brasília   United States Start

1–1 (pso 4–3) (W)

Quarter-Final
22
2016-8-16[m 22] Rio de Janeiro   Brazil Start

0–0 (pso 4–3) (W)

Semi-Final
23
2016-8-19[m 23] Rio de Janeiro   Germany Start

1–2 L

Gold Medal Match
  France 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup
24
2019-6-11[m 24] Rennes   Chile Start

2–1 W

Group match
25
2019-6-16[m 25] Nice   Thailand Start

5–1 W

Group match
26
2019-6-24[m 26] Paris   Canada Start

1–0 W

Round of 16
27
2019-6-29[m 27] Rennes   Germany 66.

off 66' (on Ilestedt)

2–1 W

Quarter-Final
28
2019-7-3[m 28] Lyon   Netherlands Start

0–1 L

Semi-Final
29
2019-7-6[m 29] Nice   England Start

2–1 W

3rd Place Match

Matches and goals scored at European Championship tournaments

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Nilla Fischer has appeared at three European Championship tournaments: Finland 2009, Sweden 2013, and Netherlands 2017.

Goal Match Date Location Opponent Lineup Min Score Result Competition
 2009 European Championship
1
2009-8-25[m 30] Turku   Russia 87.

on 87' (off Svensson)

3–0 W

Group match
2
2009-8-28[m 31] Turku   Italy 66.

on 66' (off Dahlkvist)

2–0 W

Group match
3
2009-9-4[m 32] Helsinki   Norway 46.

off 46' (on Nilsson)

1–3 L

Quarter-Final
 2013 European Championship
1
4
2013-7-10[m 33] Gothenburg   Denmark 63.

on 63' (off Göransson)

36 1–1

1–1 D

Group match
2
5
2013-7-13[m 34] Gothenburg   Finland Start 15 1–0

5–0 W

Group match
3 36 2–0
6
2013-7-16[m 35] Halmstad   Italy Start

3–1 W

Group match
7
2013-7-21[m 36] Halmstad   Iceland Start

4–0 W

Quarter-Final
8
2013-7-24[m 37] Gothenburg   Germany Start

0–1 L

Semi-Final
 2017 European Championship
9
2017-7-17[m 38] Breda   Germany Start

0–0 D

Group match
10
2017-7-21[m 39] Deventer   Russia Start

2–0 W

Group match
11
2017-7-29[m 40] Doetinchem   Netherlands Start

0–2 L

Quarter-Final

Gender equality and LGBT rights

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In regards to women's football, Fischer was described in 2017 as "one of the sport’s most important voices in support of gender equality and LGBT rights".[17]

Personal life

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In 2013, Fischer gave an interview to QX magazine in which she announced her intention to marry her partner Maria Michaela. They married in December 2013.[18]

Honours

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Club

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Nilla Fischer (left) playing for VfL Wolfsburg in March 2019

Country

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Sweden
Sweden U19
Sweden U17
  • Nordic Cup: Winner 2000, Runner-up 2001 [20]

Individual

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Notes

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  1. ^ According to her profile on the Swedish Football Association's website, Fischer's total number of caps is 188,[5] but this appears to be a mistake, as the number which was communicated after her retirement was 189.[6]

References

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  1. ^ "Nilla Fischer". Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  2. ^ a b "List of Players – 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 April 2016. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
  3. ^ "Profile". Svenska Fotbollförbundet (in Swedish). Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  4. ^ a b c d e Caps and goals
  5. ^ "Nilla Fischer – Spelarstatistik" (in Swedish). Swedish Football Association. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  6. ^ "Nilla Fischer hyllades på utsålt Gamla Ullevi" (in Swedish). Swedish Football Association. 13 October 2022. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  7. ^ Nilla Fischer till Linköping Svenskfotboll.se
  8. ^ "Fischer, Nilla" (in Swedish). Swedish Football Association. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
  9. ^ Juvet, Jo (21 May 2013). "Confident Fischer's case for Sweden's defence". UEFA.com. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  10. ^ Johansson, Robert (15 July 2013). "Fischer enjoys her goalscoring glory". UEFA.com. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
  11. ^ "Wolfsburg seal deal for Sweden defender Fischer". UEFA.com. 30 July 2013. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
  12. ^ "Fischer completes Wolfsburg move". UEFA.com. 14 August 2013. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
  13. ^ "Allt om Nilla Fischer: Fru, Maka, Bröllop, Lön och Mer". Sport247. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  14. ^ Gustaf Ränkeskog (27 September 2022). "Nilla Fischer slutar i landslaget" (in Swedish). SVT Sport. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  15. ^ Moa Berander (12 December 2022). "Nilla Fischer avslutar fotbollskarriären" (in Swedish). SVT Sport. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  16. ^ Lauletta, Dan (8 December 2018). "A brief history of the USWNT's group opponents: Sweden (who else?) and two relative newbies". The Equalizer. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  17. ^ Ames, Nick (16 July 2017). "Sweden's Nilla Fischer: 'There will always be idiots – but you can't give up'". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  18. ^ Weinemo, Pontus (3 July 2013). "Fischer gifter sig med flickvännen efter EM" (in Swedish). Expressen. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
  19. ^ Nordic cup 2004
  20. ^ Nordic cup 2000, 2001
  21. ^ "2016 FIFPro Award". Archived from the original on 28 July 2017. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
  22. ^ "IFFHS WORLD'S WOMAN TEAM OF THE DECADE 2011-2020". IFFHS. 25 January 2021.
  23. ^ "IFFHS WOMAN TEAM - UEFA - OF THE DECADE 2011-2020". IFFHS. 31 January 2021.
Match reports
  1. ^ "FIFA Women's World Cup China 2007: MATCH Report: Sweden - USA: Group matches". FIFA. Archived from the original on 2 July 2015.
  2. ^ "FIFA Women's World Cup China 2007: MATCH Report: Korea DPR - Sweden: Group matches". FIFA. Archived from the original on 2 July 2015.
  3. ^ "2008 Olympic Games: MATCH Report: China - Sweden: Group Matches". FIFA. Archived from the original on 2 April 2013.
  4. ^ "2008 Olympic Games: MATCH Report: Sweden - Argentina: Group Matches". FIFA. Archived from the original on 2 April 2013.
  5. ^ "2008 Olympic Games: MATCH Report: Sweden - Canada: Group Matches". FIFA. Archived from the original on 2 April 2013.
  6. ^ "FIFA Women's World Cup Germany 2011: MATCH Report: Colombia - Sweden: Group matches". FIFA. Archived from the original on 30 June 2011.
  7. ^ "FIFA Women's World Cup Germany 2011: MATCH Report: Korea DPR - Sweden: Group matches". FIFA. Archived from the original on 5 July 2011.
  8. ^ "FIFA Women's World Cup Germany 2011: MATCH Report: Sweden - USA: Group matches". FIFA. Archived from the original on 5 July 2011.
  9. ^ "FIFA Women's World Cup Germany 2011: MATCH Report: Sweden - Australia: Quarter-Finals". FIFA. Archived from the original on 12 July 2011.
  10. ^ "FIFA Women's World Cup Germany 2011: MATCH Report: Sweden- France: Third Place Match". FIFA. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011.
  11. ^ "2012 Olympic Games: MATCH Report: Sweden - South Africa: Group Matches". FIFA. Archived from the original on 29 June 2015.
  12. ^ "2012 Olympic Games: MATCH Report: Canada - Sweden: Group Matches". FIFA. Archived from the original on 7 June 2015.
  13. ^ "2012 Olympic Games: MATCH Report: Sweden - France: Quarter-Finals". FIFA. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015.
  14. ^ "FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015: MATCH Report: Sweden - Nigeria: Group matches". FIFA. Archived from the original on 9 June 2015.
  15. ^ "FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015: MATCH Report: USA - Sweden: Group matches". FIFA. Archived from the original on 14 June 2015.
  16. ^ "FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015: MATCH Report: Australia - Sweden: Group matches". FIFA. Archived from the original on 28 May 2015.
  17. ^ "FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015: MATCH Report: Germany - Sweden: Round of 16". FIFA. Archived from the original on 18 June 2015.
  18. ^ "2016 Olympic Games: MATCH Report: Sweden - South Africa: Group match". FIFA. Archived from the original on 20 August 2016.
  19. ^ "2016 Olympic Games: MATCH Report: Brazil - Sweden: Group match". ESPN.
  20. ^ "2016 Olympic Games: MATCH Report: China - Sweden: Group match". ESPN.
  21. ^ "2016 Olympic Games: MATCH Report: USA - Sweden: Quarter-Finals". ESPN.
  22. ^ "2016 Olympic Games: MATCH Report: Brazil - Sweden: Semi-Finals". ESPN.
  23. ^ "2016 Olympic Games: MATCH Report: Sweden - Germany: Gold Medal Match". ESPN.
  24. ^ "FIFA Women's World Cup France 2019: MATCH Report: Chile - Sweden: Group matches". FIFA. Archived from the original on 2 July 2015.
  25. ^ "FIFA Women's World Cup France 2019: MATCH Report: Sweden - Thailand: Group matches". FIFA. Archived from the original on 7 June 2019.
  26. ^ "FIFA Women's World Cup France 2019: MATCH Report: Sweden - Canada: Round of 16". FIFA. Archived from the original on 7 June 2019.
  27. ^ "FIFA Women's World Cup France 2019: MATCH Report: Germany - Sweden: Quarter-Finals". FIFA. Archived from the original on 7 June 2019.
  28. ^ "FIFA Women's World Cup France 2019: MATCH Report: Netherlands - Sweden: Semi-Finals". FIFA. Archived from the original on 7 June 2019.
  29. ^ "FIFA Women's World Cup France 2019: MATCH Report: England - Sweden: 3rd Place Match". FIFA. Archived from the original on 7 June 2019.
  30. ^ "2009 European Championship: MATCH Report: Sweden - Russia: Group match". worldfootball.net.
  31. ^ "2009 European Championship: MATCH Report: Italy - Sweden: Group match". worldfootball.net.
  32. ^ "2009 European Championship: MATCH Report: Sweden - Norway: Quarter-finals". worldfootball.net.
  33. ^ "2013 European Championship: MATCH Report: Sweden - Denmark: Group match". UEFA.
  34. ^ "2013 European Championship: MATCH Report: Finland - Sweden: Group match". UEFA.
  35. ^ "2013 European Championship: MATCH Report: Sweden - Italy: Group match". UEFA.
  36. ^ "2013 European Championship: MATCH Report: Sweden - Iceland: Quarter-Finals". UEFA.
  37. ^ "2013 European Championship: MATCH Report: Sweden - Germany: Semi-Finals". UEFA.
  38. ^ "2017 European Championship: MATCH Report: Germany - Sweden: Group matches". UEFA.
  39. ^ "2017 European Championship: MATCH Report: Sweden - Russia: Group matches". UEFA.
  40. ^ "2017 European Championship: MATCH Report: Netherlands - Sweden: Quarter-Finals". UEFA.
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