Jakobsson eager to avoid repeat performance

Chastened by the experience of semi-final disappointment 12 months ago, Swedish talisman Sofia Jakobsson is determined "to go all the way" this time around as her improving side gear up to take on France in Minsk.

Powers of recovery
Jakobsson is gaining a habit for scoring important goals. Following their 3-0 open-day defeat by England, the Blågult's Group B campaign looked to be ending no sooner than it had started as they trailed Iceland 1-0 going into the final 15 minutes. It was Jakobsson's cue, the Umeå IK forward equalising and paving the way for substitute Jenny Hjohlman's late winner. Three days later Calle Barrling's team repeated the feat – though affording themselves more breathing space this time – recovering from an early Norway goal to triumph 2-1 with Jakobsson scoring what proved the clincher just before the interval. "It was like the Iceland match: we went behind, recovered, then scored twice to turn the game around," said the 19-year-old. "We are a strong team and even if our opponent takes the lead we are always confident we can recover."

Final ambition
Asked if, for the sake of continuity, Sweden should look to concede first when they meet France in Minsk she laughed; then added a firm no. "I hope we take the lead this time," said Jakobsson, a member of the team swept aside 4-0 by eventual champions Italy 12 months ago, an experience she is eager to avoid repeating. "We want to get to the final. We know how it feels to lose in the semi-finals and now we want to go all the way. But we have to beat France first and that will be tough. We met them in La Manga [in March] and lost 2-1. They are a very technical side but if we play our own game we can beat them. We are getting better and better and always play well as a team."

Bachmann meeting?
Jakobsson is well-versed in this collective team ethos. Talismanic for Sweden in the UEFA European Women's Under-19 Championship – it was her goal against Denmark in the second qualifying round that earned their place in these finals – she is still on the fringes at Umeå. "I'm playing a lot here and gaining in confidence," she said. "It's hard when I'm not playing regularly at Umeå but even then I still feel strong and realise it's very important to play with big players like Hanna [Ljungberg] and Ramona [Bachmann]; it helps me improve, get better and better." She could find herself coming up against Switzerland forward Bachmann in the final on Saturday, but with memories of the Italy loss still raw Jakobsson is happy to take one step at a time.