Sofia Jakobsson just can’t see herself not playing soccer.
The 33-year-old San Diego Wave FC and Swedish women’s national team forward has been playing professionally since she was 17 and representing her country since she was 21. Recently, Jakobsson got tapped to join Sweden in her fourth FIFA Women’s World Cup.
“I just love this sport. I couldn’t see myself without it and it’s still hard to sometimes think about,” Jakobsson said. “It’s like the end is coming closer. Obviously I want to play for some more years, but when I was 20 I was like, ‘I will end when I’m 27,’ and now I’m sitting here 33 years old and I just want to continue to play.”
Jakobsson chatted with The Equalizer about her love of soccer as her driving force, settling into San Diego and the upcoming World Cup.
Adjusting to life in San Diego and the NWSL’s style
Jakobsson was six when she started playing soccer, and in her words “I never left, I loved it so much.” As for dealing with the pressures that come with playing professional soccer at such a high level for such a long time, Jakobsson said that she really grew into dealing with it through her career.
“It was harder when I was young but it’s something you learn along the way and why I’m playing soccer is because I really love it,” she said. “Coming back to why I started and enjoyed it so much when I was small, I sometimes [remind] myself why I’m playing and that’s because I love the sport so much.”
Jakobsson had played all over Europe prior to joining the Wave, and in addition to picking up languages along the way, she found that at every club she kept learning and growing on the pitch. “As a player going from Sweden and, for example, playing in France and Spain where it’s totally different soccer, I learned a lot about the technical part of football, where in Sweden it was more about the physicality and the organization so I think I have learned a good mix from it,” she explained.
Although she wasn’t officially signed with the Wave until January 2022, Jakobsson said that she talked with both Jill Ellis and Casey Stoney in the year leading up to the inaugural season for San Diego and was left feeling really good about joining the National Women’s Soccer League side. She had always wanted to play in the U.S. but had friends who were a part of the WPS when it collapsed, so she just kept patiently watching the growth and stability of the league before making the move.
“I feel much better this year,” Jakobsson said of her second season with the Wave. “I can play more like myself. Last year was obviously a little bit up and down, which is a different playing style here from Europe. So I think it took me a year to fit in and know my plays and now finally… I feel like myself.”
Textbook counterattack 
Sofia Jakobsson gets @sandiegowavefc on the board! pic.twitter.com/2U0xgVOBbm
— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) April 24, 2023
Sofia Jakobsson gets @sandiegowavefc on the board! pic.twitter.com/2U0xgVOBbm
— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) April 24, 2023
In the offseason, Jakobsson went home to Sweden to spend extended time with family over the holidays, which isn’t very common for players who play in most of the European leagues. It also gave her time to focus on getting her body ready for the year ahead. “It was really nice to get that time to build myself up with both strength workouts and runnings, which I also never had time to do in Europe when I was playing over there,” she said.
Jakobsson prefers the NWSL scheduling to that of the European leagues, because in Europe, “you never have a break because during the summer period, you often have the World Cup or the Olympics or the Euros, so you never get a rest. Then in the wintertime you have seven days off for Christmas and then you go again. So I feel like here you have time to [have] down time, but also time to build yourself up for a long new season, which I think is really good to prevent injuries.”
Round four on the world stage for Sweden
Recently, Peter Gerhardsson named Sweden’s roster for the upcoming FIFA Women’s World Cup, being held in Australia and New Zealand. This will be Jakobsson’s fourth World Cup, four years after she and Sweden took the bronze in the 2019 World Cup.
“I was so happy for this call up,” Jakobsson said. “When you get older, you just want to do it again and again and I’m so happy that I got to do it a fourth time now with my country. It’s always been a dream and to be able to do it four times, it’s more than I was ever thinking I would do. So, I’m super happy about every time.”
Sofia Jakobsson 
Great #FIFAWWC goals @JakobssonSofia | #HBD pic.twitter.com/MjpWxf8fh1
— FIFA Women's World Cup (@FIFAWWC) April 23, 2023
Great #FIFAWWC goals @JakobssonSofia | #HBD pic.twitter.com/MjpWxf8fh1— FIFA Women's World Cup (@FIFAWWC) April 23, 2023
After three bronze medals in the tournament, and a silver medal as runner up in 2003 — losing to the United States — Jakobsson said it would mean “everything” to bring home a World Cup title for Sweden.
“We have been so close in many tournaments, in two Olympic finals and also going really far into the World Cup,” she said. “So it would mean so so much and especially for our captain Caroline Seger. I would love to win this World Cup for her and obviously for the team, but she means a lot to us and it would be amazing for her to end, probably her career with gold.”
Sweden’s World Cup kicks off against Group G opponents South Africa on July 22.
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