First Real Madrid, now Paris Saint-Germain? Sweden wonderkid Rosa Kafaji leading Hacken’s charge for another Champions League scalp

Kafaji is regarded as one of the top young talents in world football, ranking 11th in GOAL’s NXGN list in 2022, and she had herself an incredible 2023, ending it as Hacken’s top-scorer in the league.

No team-mate has scored more than her in the UEFA Women’s Champions League, either, and those efforts have helped Hacken secure a surprise spot in the quarter-finals of the competition, out-qualifying a Real Madrid team who were defeated 1-0 in the final round of group games thanks to Kafaji’s strike. The Swedish side take on PSG in the quarter-finals and though they will be underdogs, they don’t lack belief.

You can watch the UEFA Women’s Champions League for free on DAZN, wherever you are in the world!

Speaking ahead of Wednesday’s first-leg meeting with PSG, Kafaji said: “[The group stage has] given us confidence because we've been playing very good teams in good games, much tougher than usual. I think that we've actually done very well in these games, which gives us confidence, so we can bring this confidence with us to the game.

“Being the underdog is always a good thing because, they won't do it on purpose but they will underestimate us, kind of, if they see us as underdogs. We can just play with that and go in with our confidence and just show how we play.”

Hacken’s domestic campaign ended back in November and the 2024 edition doesn’t get back underway until mid-April, so the Swedish side are out-of-season ahead of this match, whereas PSG are in the middle of theirs.

“I would say there's pros and cons,” Kafaji said of the situation. “A pro is that we recharge our batteries but also, the flow of the games is not the same because if you play regularly, obviously you will have that game flow. But we've had some games, we have had good training, so I'm not worried.”

Kafaji was only 18 years old when her move to Hacken was the most expensive domestic transfer in Swedish women’s football – but her time with the club started in disastrous fashion when she broke her leg on her debut. Now 20 years old, Kafaji returned with a bang in 2023 and she appears to be making up for lost time, scoring her first goal for Sweden last month.

“If you ask anyone that's been injured, when they come back, there's so much more hunger because you haven't done what you love to do and now you appreciate it more,” she said.

Hacken host PSG in the first leg of this quarter-final tie on Wednesday, March 20. The return leg will be played in Paris eight days later, with the winner to face either Benfica or Lyon in the semi-finals.