Players, celebrities, or people, in general, are now more open to accepting their sexuality. Interestingly, those around them are also willing to accept and embrace it. One such beloved power couple is Swedish defender Magdalena Eriksson and her girlfriend, Danish international footballer Pernille Harder. The duo has been dating since 2014 and they have become role models both on and off the field.
England defeated Norway 8-0 in the group stage and reached the last four after coming from behind to defeat Spain in extra time. Sweden scraped through to the semi-finals with the help of an injury-time goal against Belgium. The competition was made better for captain Magdalena Eriksson by the love and encouragement of her partner, Pernille Harder.
It makes me proud of myself that I’ve come this far: Magdalena Eriksson
Earlier this year, the couple was featured in the Ten Toes production short film “Love Always Wins,” which was about their relationship and coming out as gay.
Speaking about it, Eriksson said, “To be out, open and myself has been my goal since I was a kid. The fact that I’m here today and I am open about my relationship with Pernille, it makes me proud of myself that I’ve come this far. It makes me proud of Pernille as well that she has come this far.”
During an interview in 2020, at that time she said, “We were just quite open from the start when we started seeing each other. From then on, we’ve both had successful careers. We both became role models and well-known names. It just kind of happened. It has been important for us not to hide something and just to be ourselves. To show people, that is how it should be. That’s how we want the world to be. We want people to be themselves and that’s how we want to be as well.”
On the match front, England has reached their first Euros final since 2009 after beating Sweden 4-0. They will now face either Germany or France in Sunday’s final at Wembley.