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Q+A with Jessica Landstrom: WPS in 2011 a possibility

Sky Blue FC mutually terminated Jessica Landstrom’s contract June 30 after the Swedish forward started just three of her nine games with the team and failed to score a goal.  Saturday after Sweden’s 3-0 loss to the United States in East Hartford, Conn., Landstrom talked about why she left Sky Blue FC, the possibility of a return to WPS in 2011 and what Sweden learned from its two friendly matches with the United States last week.  Landstrom is now in preseason with FFC Frankfurt.

First, how do you assess Sweden’s performance in these two matches against the United States?

Jessica Landstrom: I think it was a strange first half.  We played six minutes and then we went in and we played 20 minutes later, but I think we did good.  We kind of didn’t play like our game like we did the second half like we did a couple of days ago, so we started to play like American, like U.S. does.  That’s not our game.  We need to play our game and to stick to that and then we play good soccer.  So, that’s maybe the fault we did.  Then they scored awesome goals and they are really good offensive, but we had our chances, Hope did her saves and we could have easily scored three goals also.

Looking toward the 2011 Women’s World Cup, is this a good measuring stick?

JL: Yeah, it is.  They are two really good games.  They are the top ranked in the world and its two really good games, obviously.

Do you think Sweden is as well-respected in the United States?  You are No. 4 in the world.

JL: Yeah, I think we are.  We have a couple of Swedish players in the league.  I think after these games they know we can play soccer and that is all that we can do.  They don’t have to think that we are so good.  Then we can come from under. (laughs)

I have to ask: Can you talk about what happened at Sky Blue FC a little bit?

JL: It was a mutual decision.  I felt like I want to play World Cup next year and I want to get many games and I signed with Frankfurt now and their season starts in August so I am in preseason now, learning a lot.  So, I am going to play until like December and the league starts again in February.  I will get a lot of games until the World Cup.  If I would have stayed it would have ended in September.

So you think you will come back next year?

JL: I don’t know, maybe.

You just didn’t see it working out?

JL: No, I wasn’t happy with the situation and I wanted to find a solution and that is the solution me and the club came up to.

Do you notice a difference in Germany?  How does it compare?

JL: I have been there four days.  We’ve been lifting a little bit and playing a little bit of soccer, but it’s, of course it’s different.  I think you can see when U.S. plays German National Team.  It’s that difference; it’s type of play.  Sweden I think is a little bit more like German, but still, Germany is good.

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