Göransson: 'We've made a name for ourselves'

Trying to look beyond the "greatest disappointment" of her young career, Antonia Göransson hopes the fanatical support Sweden experienced throughout UEFA Women's EURO 2013 will continue going forward. 

The 22-year-old – restored to the starting lineup in place of Sofia Jakobsson for the Blågult's 1-0 semi-final loss to Germany – said the whole squad have made a name for themselves following the free-flowing, enterprising performances they produced in front of packed stadiums in Gothenburg and Halmstad.

Göransson, on the books of Germany's 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam, was joined in expressing her regret by centre-back Nilla Fischer, who spoke of the "bitter" feeling of not being able to reward the hosts' fans with a place in Sunday's Solna showpiece. 

Antonia Göransson, Sweden winger
We played very well all the way through the tournament, it's just a shame that it didn't work out today. There wasn't much said [at half-time]. We knew we could do better and wanted to go out and prove it, to get the ball moving more.

We felt we needed longer attacks and we got that in the second half. In the first half we had very short attacks. We barely made it up the pitch before we had to get back again, so we were neither here nor there in the first half. We tried to fix that in the second half.

This is my greatest [disappointment], without a doubt. A EURO in Sweden, of course it would have been tremendous to have won it, the biggest thing I would have experienced in my life.

We've had lots of people watching our matches. It feels like we've made a name for ourselves in the media. Beforehand, people knew about the stars, but now they know who the others are, too. We're now more well-known in the media. We've made a name for ourselves in Sweden, which is nice. I hope many people will follow us in our future final tournaments.

Nilla Fischer, Sweden defender
We're disappointed and sad. Our dream was to reach the final and we didn't. We played well and created a lot of chances. It was very tight – today Germany drew the long end of the straw, that's how it is. We're very grateful to our wonderful fans, but, of course, disappointed.

It feels extremely good – that's strange to say after losing – to have the support we do. It also makes us even sadder because we really wanted to get to the final, for ourselves and for our fantastic supporters. It's wonderful that they still are here.

No, right now it doesn't feel like it [will be easy to bounce back for the FIFA World Cup qualifiers in September]. Right now it's just terribly bitter; it's hard to think of upcoming matches.