MILAN (AP) — Thea Johansson scored her Olympic women’s hockey tournament-leading fourth goal and Sweden inched closer to clinching Group B with a 4-0 win over France at the Milan Cortina Games on Sunday.
Sara Hjalmarsson, Hanna Thuvik and Lisa Johansson also scored for the Swedes, who are unbeaten through three games. Emma Soderberg stopped 14 shots in her 2026 tournament debut. The shutout was her first in six Olympic appearances.
Sweden can clinch first place and secure a matchup with Group A’s No. 3-seeded team in the quarterfinals with a win or loss by Japan (1-1).
France dropped to 0-3 in its Olympic debut, and is in jeopardy of not qualifying for the quarterfinals. Only the top three of five Group B nations advance. Alice Philbert had 45 saves in a game the Swedes outshot France 49-14.
In the day’s only other game, Finland (0-1) renewed its rivalry in facing Czechia (0-2) in Group A play.
Sweden entered the tournament with high expectations featuring a young, talented lineup that first made an impression by winning silver at the 2018 U-18 championships.
“It’s time for us now,” coach Ulf Lundberg said of a once-proud program that’s experienced struggles for much of the past decade. “I think we are in a good place and we have been developing all these six years. ... So I’m exited.
Sweden’s roster features eight players 22 and younger, with seven currently competing at U.S. colleges. That includes Ohio State freshman Hilda Svensson, who is tied for seventh in the nation with 44 points (15 goals, 29 assists) in 26 games.
Svensson had two assists against France, giving the 19-year-old four points — all assists — in three games.
Sweden has finished no better than seventh at the past two Olympics after finishing fourth at the 2014 Sochi Games.
The drop-off has been dramatic for the only nation other than Canada and the U.S. to win an Olympic silver medal. The Swedes did so at the 2006 Turin Games by upsetting the Americans in the semifinals. Sweden also won bronze in 2002.
AP Olympic coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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