A Big Year For… Blackstenius on Track for Big Breakthrough (Stina Blackstenius interview)

Sweden’s Stina Blackstenius is assessed by two coaches and then speaks for herself. Jorge Vilda, whose Spain side lost the 2015 Under-19 European final to a Blackstenius brace, calls her head and shoulders above the rest and on track to become world class. Her Under-19 coach Calle Barrling credits work on her self-image with giving her real confidence and a sharper focus on creating and scoring rather than build-up play. After twenty goals in ten competitive games across Under-19 qualifying and the finals, the twenty-year-old wants to establish herself in the senior side, improve as a target striker and adapt to the faster senior game, with Olympic qualifying and a possible Under-20 World Cup ahead.