The first goal in football is often the decider. Teams that score first tend to win, and they also tend to change their approach after getting that first goal.
Sweden, as they prepare to play in their first-ever FIFA Women’s World Cup Final Sunday against Germany, are well aware of the importance of the first goal.

“I think the first goal will decide the game,” said midfielder Malin Andersson. “It won’t mean the game is over if Germany scores, but it will make it very difficult to win.”

Sweden have scored first in three of their last four games, all wins. The only match in which they did not score first was against Canada in the semi-finals. The Canadians grabbed the first goal but then fell back into a defensive shell that simply could not stand up to the Swedish barrage of shots and the Scandinavians’ speed. The Germans will surely be a different story.

“I think Germany will play a lot smarter if they score first,” said defender Kristin Bengtsson. “Canada just used a long ball to keep us away from their goal. We didn’t mind because we got the ball back. Germany did very well against the U.S, when they scored, so that is what we have to look at.”

Germany beat the heavily favoured United States 3-0 in the semi-finals to reach their second Final. Kerstin Garefrekes found the net in the 15th minute and the Germans counterattacked superbly for the rest of the game. As the Americans grew more desperate for an equalizer, Germany exploited every hole and scored two late goals to complete their victory.

“We have to come and play for the first goal,” Andersson said. “If we can score first, then we can really use our speed to counter them and find the space. If they score first, then we have to keep our heads and still use our speed to get in behind their defence and score.”

That is exactly what Sweden did against Canada. After Kara Lang fired the North Americans into the lead at the 65-minute mark, the North Americans tried to play defence and hang on for dear life. The Swedes used their speed to tear through the Canadians, although it took them 14 minutes to score their equaliser. Defender Hanna Marklund, however, said she never doubted the final outcome.

“I think we outplayed them for so long and we created so many chances that we knew we were going to score,” said forward Josefin ?qvist. “Even when we kept missing chances, sure, we thought, ‘Oh no,’ but I don’t think anyone thought that we wouldn’t score. When Malin (Mostr?m) did score, we knew we would win.”

?qvist, the youngest player on Sweden’s squad, scored the game winner with a right-footed volley that caromed off the post and went into the net. Andersson said that kind of comeback win against a physically strong team bent on playing defence gave the Swedes confidence about their ability to overcome a deficit.

“We found a tempo they couldn’t stop,” Andersson said. “So, in that case, when they scored the first goal, it helped us to play better. But I think the Germans will have a different way of playing than the Canadians if they score first.”

For Bengtsson the real key to dealing with a first goal, whether Swedish or German, was for her side to stick to their game plan. Sweden have made no secret of the fact that they plan to use their speed to counteract the Germans’ size. Bengtsson said her team’s speed will be crucial to either grabbing the first goal or drawing level.

“We have to go out there and believe that we will score first,” she said. “If we don’t then we must use our speed to get in behind them and do what we did against Canada. We created a lot of chances in that game and we never stopped even though we didn’t score until late. I think that is what will be the key in the Final.”

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