She was named player of the match after a heroic effort at goalkeeper for Sweden in a thrilling 5-4 penalty shootout victory against the United States on Sunday.
But Swedish goalkeeper Zećira Mušović was asked an odd question that wasn’t even about her incredible performance or that of her teammates in the aftermath to the game.
One journalist asked the goalkeeper if she knew former Swedish football star Zlatan Ibrahimović.
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“In Sweden, everyone knows Zlatan,” Mušović replied.
BBC Sport journalist Emma Smith later revealed all journalists in attendance were allowed to ask a total of three questions to the Swedish hero.
“I was sat two seats along from the journalist who asked this and could not believe what I heard,” she wrote.
“Utterly disrespectful after an incredible performance and a remarkable match/result. Also, we only got three questions to Mušović at the press conference. One of them was this bollocks.”
The same reporter also asked Mušović about something more relevant to the game itself, questioning whether she had said anything to the US players during the shootout.
“It’s the mental part of the game [that] is huge in the penalty shootout. You do what you’re allowed to do,” she said.
Mušović later told reporters she had a “good feeling” before Sunday’s stunning win.
“We were facing a really tough opponent today and somehow we managed to get to the penalty shootout, where we showed a lot of courage,” said Mušović.
“I’m extremely proud of the girls that we could go there and win the game. “It’s a huge win for us. I had a really good feeling before the game.”
Sweden now faces Japan in a quarter-final on Friday at Eden Park Outer Oval.
WALSH RETURNS TO FULL TRAINING, SET TO RETURN FOR ENGLAND
Meanwhile, Keira Walsh will be available for England in their last-16 Women’s World Cup clash against Nigeria on Monday as long as she shows no adverse reaction to returning to training.
England’s key midfielder was stretchered off in agony in a 1-0 group-stage win over Denmark with what was feared to have been a serious knee injury.
But scans found the Barcelona star had not been badly hurt and just over a week on she resumed training on Sunday, in a huge boost to England’s World Cup hopes.
Coach Sarina Wiegman declined Sunday to disclose the exact nature of the knee injury but said: “She’s doing well. She started to rehab straight after we knew what was going on.
“She was on the pitch and training today.
“Now we’ll wait to see how she recovers from that training session and if she does well then she’s available for tomorrow.”
Wiegman switched England’s usual 4-3-3 formation to 3-5-2 against China because of Walsh’s absence and it paid off with a handsome 6-1 win.
Whether she retains the same set-up against Randy Waldrum’s Nigeria remains to be seen given the threat of Barcelona goal machine Asisat Oshoala and the dangerous Uchenna Kanu in attack.
Wiegman is especially wary of Nigeria — who defeated co-hosts Australia 3-2 in the group phase — on the counter-attack.
“They’re quick, they’re pretty physical, so those are things we really need to be aware of,” she said.
Wiegman said a series of shock results at the World Cup, including early exits for Germany, Brazil and Canada, were proof that England could not afford to take lower-ranked Nigeria lightly.
England are European champions and one of the favourites to win the World Cup but Wiegman cautioned: “What we’ve seen in this tournament is that nothing is easy.
“The growth of the game is shown at this tournament.
“We haven’t had any easy games at all and we don’t expect an easy game tomorrow. “It’s going to be very competitive and we need to be at our best.”
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