Hope Solo paid Sweden's defenders the highest praise following their hard-fought victory over Switzerland, however, the RTE football pundit thinks that Janne Andersson's side will go no further than the quarter-finals of the World Cup.
The American international, who has played over 200 times for her country, said that the Swedish defence are a goalkeeper’s dream such is there commitment and dedication to each other and the jersey.
But she feels that great defending can only take you so far in this World Cup and she feels that Sweden do not possess the players to take them any further in the tournament.
"It’s no surprise. They have played this way in every game prior to today," said Solo, speaking on the RTE2 World Cup show.
"If you are great at something, you stick with it. They frustrated the Swiss all over the park and they were committed to doing it.
"And it is commendable, but I have to ask the question, ‘will this take them all the way?’."
Sweden will now face England in the quarter-finals and while Solo does not believe that Sweden have the overall game to reach the semi-finals, she believes that the Scandinavian side really added to the tournament.
"It’s great for their country, it’s great for their team and it’s great for the sport, and I have a great amount of respect for quality defending.
"But they are playing for each other. And as a goalkeeper these are the types of players you can only pray you are playing behind.
"I can’t imagine they will win a World Cup final. And I think that this may be their last win of the tournament.
"But I think you need more options in midfield and attack to win a World Cup."
"Defending is an art. You won't find a more united team than Sweden." - Didi Hamman is full of praise for the Scandinavian side.#RTEsoccerhttps://t.co/hm8wc6sW1c pic.twitter.com/dNX4oI9va8
— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) July 3, 2018
Didi Hamann was full of praise for this Sweden team and their overall performance as they beat Switzerland, thanks to Emil Forsberg’s 66th-minute strike.
"Defending is an art. It is no coincidence when you have 10, 15, 20 blocks in a game," said Hamann, who was also working as a pundit on the World Cup show.
"They played in the play-offs against the masters of the dark arts, the Italians, and they shut them out twice.
"And the way they defended was admirable and it was great to watch. I love the commitment they have got, the way they stuck up for each other, the way they help each other. When a team-mate makes a mistake, the next one is there to help him out and this is what a team needs.
"And I don’t think you will find a more united team in the competition than these."
But Hamann also implied that he did not believe that Sweden would be around at the end of this tornament as he indicated that he did not feel they had the right firepower to see them past better quality teams.
"Their unity got them to the last eight. Attitude and mentality goes a long way. Whether it gets you all the way, I’m not too sure.
"Especially their finishing, and if they do get chances in the next round they have to take some of these and I don’t think they will get as many chances as they did today."
