Nya lagkaptenen: “Det är fortfarande nytt för mig”
April 11, 2026·26 min·2 clips
Stina Blackstenius discusses becoming Sweden's new team captain and how she'll use her decade of experience.
1. Aftonbladet's Fanplus podcast presents a special episode featuring an extended interview with Stina Blackstenius, the newly appointed captain of the Swedish women's national team.
2. The interview is conducted by host Lotta Folker, who asks Blackstenius about the captaincy, her club career at Arsenal, and Sweden's upcoming World Cup qualifying matches.
3. The episode's core thread is how Blackstenius sees her own development — from a shy debut player to a captain with the most national games in the current squad — and what she believes the role of team captain requires.
4. Blackstenius says being named captain was 'a positive surprise,' something she had not been thinking about before the squad was announced, and that she is grateful to the coaching staff for the decision.
5. She describes team captaincy as something that can take many forms, citing Karoline Seger, Magda Eriksson, and Kim as examples of captains who led in very different ways and were all 'very, very appreciated.'
6. On her own ten-year national team journey, Blackstenius says she was 'a bit more cautious and withdrawn' early on but is now 'much more comfortable and safe' in who she is regardless of the situation.
7. She notes that young players entering the national team today are in a similar position to hers a decade ago — a whole country watching — and says the opportunity itself is something she never takes for granted.
8. On Smilla Holmberg, a young Swedish player who joined Arsenal, Blackstenius says she wanted 'nothing more than for her to feel that she has the right conditions' and describes the friendship as having grown naturally through daily training.
9. Holmberg reportedly told media that Blackstenius and her boyfriend have 'adopted' her — she sits in the backseat of their car and goes everywhere with them — a framing Blackstenius finds funny but says she simply tries to make sure Smilla is doing well.
10. At Arsenal, the team is in a strong period: they beat Chelsea 3-0 in the WSL, beat Chelsea again in the Champions League, and are in the Champions League semi-finals against Lyon.
11. Blackstenius sees the Lyon tie as a similar scenario to last season, when Arsenal also played Lyon in the semi-final and moved on — 'we have good memories from last season of meeting Lyon.'
12. She references Arsenal's comeback from 2-0 down against Real Madrid at home as evidence that the squad has learned to 'come back in matches' regardless of an earlier poor result.
13. A key formative experience she cites is the season Linköping lost to Paris FC on penalties in the Champions League qualifier and then had to watch the group stage as spectators — a feeling she describes as 'very boring and super wrong.'
14. That experience, she says, was a lesson: 'It was also a lesson, even if it was boring. That it had to be that way' — and she credits it with building the conviction that the Champions League is where they belong.
15. Sweden are second in their World Cup qualifying group, behind Denmark on goal difference only, with two home games remaining — Denmark in Gothenburg and Serbia in Stockholm.
16. Blackstenius says Sweden want to secure direct World Cup qualification for Brazil and avoid the play-offs, having had 'good performances' throughout the qualifying campaign.
17. She acknowledges the transition in the squad with new leadership and many new players, and says securing qualification now would give the team time and confidence to prepare properly for the World Cup.
18. The interview is conducted entirely in Swedish, with a conversational tone typical of sports feature journalism — relaxed but specific, covering both club and national team threads.
19. Listeners who follow women's football — particularly Arsenal WSL, the Swedish national team, or the UEFA Women's Champions League — will find the content specific and informative.
20. Those without background knowledge of Swedish women's football, the players named, or the ongoing qualifying campaign will find significant context missing from this episode.