Nilla Fischer

nationalgoals3 = 23

Early life Fischer was born in a small village outside Kristianstad, Sweden, and has a twin brother.

Club career

Early career Fischer began playing professionally at just 14, with Division 1 team Vittsjö GIK.

Linköping FC In October 2011, it was announced that Fischer would join fellow Damallsvenskan club Linköping FC on a two-year contract.

VfL Wolfsburg In 2013, Fischer agreed a contract with VfL Wolfsburg of the Frauen-Bundesliga from 1 January 2014. She was, however, released early by Linköping, allowing her to join Wolfsburg in August 2013. She made her debut for the club during the Bundesliga 2013–14 season opener against Bayern Munich on 7 September 2013.

With Wolfsburg, she won the 2013–14 Champions League and finished as runner-up in the 2015–16 and 2017–18 competitions. Alongside the Champions League title, Fischer won the Frauen-Bundesliga four times and secured the DFB Pokal five times. She acted as captain of the team.

Return to Linköping Fischer returned to Linköping FC in 2019, following six seasons playing in Germany's Frauen-Bundesliga.

International career Fischer made her senior debut against Norway in January 2001. This change in position coincided with an upturn in goalscoring form for Fischer, who scored three times for Sweden at the home UEFA Women's Euro 2013, earning her the Silver Boot.

Fischer represented Sweden in four World Cups (China 2007, Germany 2011, Canada 2015, France 2019) and three Olympic Games (Beijing 2008, London 2012, Rio 2016.) Across these tournaments, Sweden finished in third place at two World Cups (2011 and 2019), and won a silver medal in Rio.

On 28 March 2022, Fischer announced through her Instagram that she wouldn't take part in the forthcoming UEFA Women's Euro 2022.

On 27 September 2022, Fischer announced her retirement from international play. Off the pitch Fischer married her partner Mariah-Michaela (known as Mika) in December 2013. The pair share two children, born in 2017 and 2021 respectively.

Fischer is an ambassador for LGBT rights, and has spoken publicly about being a gay woman playing football. She was the first player in Germany to wear a rainbow coloured captain's armband.

In June 2019, alongside Kosovare Asllani, Hedvig Lindahl, and Caroline Seger, Fischer was honoured with a statue as part of a partnership between Coca-Cola and the Swedish Football Association. Fischer's statue – placed in Linköping – was found toppled shortly after being unveiled.

She is a Liverpool fan.

Career statistics

Scores and results list Sweden's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Fischer goal.

Goal Match Date Location Opponent Lineup Min Score Result Competition China 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup 2007-9-14 Chengdu Group match 2007-9-18 Tianjin Start Group match Beijing 2008 Women's Olympic Football Tournament 2008-8-6 Tianjin Group match 1 2008-8-9 Tianjin Start 58 1–0 Group match 2008-8-12 Beijing Group match Germany 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup 2011-6-28 Leverkusen Group match 2011-7-2 Augsburg Group match 2 2011-7-6 Wolfsburg 35 2–0 Group match 2011-7-10 Augsburg Quarter-final 2011-7-16 Sinsheim Third place match London 2012 Women's Olympic Football Tournament 3 2012-7-25 Coventry 7 1–0 Group match 2012-7-31 Newcastle Group match 4 2012-8-3 Glasgow Start 18 1–0 Quarter-final Canada 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup 5 2015-6-8 Winnipeg Start 31 2–0 Group match 2015-6-12 Winnipeg Start Group match 2015-6-16 Edmonton Start Group match 2015-6-20 Ottawa Start Round of 16 Rio de Janeiro 2016 Women's Olympic Football Tournament 6 2016-8-3 Rio de Janeiro Start 76 1–0 Group match 2016-8-6 Rio de Janeiro Start Group match 2016-8-9 Brasília Group match 2016-8-12 Brasília Start Quarter-final 2016-8-16 Rio de Janeiro Start Semi-final 2016-8-19 Rio de Janeiro Start Gold Medal Match France 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup 2019-6-11 Rennes Start Group match 2019-6-16 Nice Start Group match 2019-6-24 Paris Start Round of 16 2019-6-29 Rennes Quarter-final 2019-7-3 Lyon Start Semi-final 2019-7-6 Nice Start 3rd place match

Honours LdB FC Malmö Damallsvenskan: 2010, 2011 Svenska Supercupen: 2011

VfL Wolfsburg

UEFA Women's Champions League: 2013–14 Bundesliga: 2013–14, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19 DFB-Pokal: 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19

Sweden FIFA Women's World Cup third place: 2011, 2019 Summer Olympics silver medal: 2016 Algarve Cup: 2009

Sweden U19 Nordic Cup runner-up: 2004

Sweden U17 Nordic Cup: 2000; runner-up 2001

Individual UEFA Women's Championship Silver Boot: 2013 UEFA Women's Championship All Star Team: 2013 Fotbollsgalan Best female defense in Sweden: 2013, 2014 UEFA Best Women's Player in Europe Award third place: 2014 FIFA FIFPro World XI: 2016 IFFHS World's Woman Team of the Decade 2011–2020 IFFHS UEFA Woman Team of the Decade 2011–2020