Felicia Schröder, hailed as a “future superstar”, played her last club game of the calendar year having scored more for her team than any other European woman in 2025.
Schröder ends the year having found the net on 38 occasions for the new Swedish champions BK Häcken. That is three more than FC Barcelona’s Ewa Pajor, the recent winner of the first-ever Gerd Müller Trophy in the women’s game, having scored 52 times during the 2024/25 season.
Pajor has also scored five goals for Poland in 2025 giving her an overall total of 41 for the calendar year. Both Schröder and Pajor trail Charlyn Corral who has an incredible 48 goals for her Mexican club side Pachuca and is set to win the title of the world’s leading female goalscorer for a second year in succession.
Thirty of Schröder’s goals have come in her domestic league, only Katie Wilkinson of Glasgow Rangers has scored more in a European top flight during 2025. Schröder thus became the first player to hit the thirty-goal mark in the Damallsvenskan in over two decades since Hanna Ljungberg for Umeå IK in 2002, four years before the 18-year-old Schröder was even born.
Speaking to me exclusively this week, Schröder said “honestly, I didn’t go into the season thinking about the numbers. I just wanted to improve my game and help the team, especially from last year when I scored 12. The goals started to come and I felt more and more confident. Reaching 30 goals is something I’m really proud of. It’s a special milestone, especially considering how long it’s been since someone hit that mark too.”
Schröder could add to her tally during two UEFA Nations League matches for Sweden against France but is unconcerned with scoring records. “I’m aware of them, of course. People send me things or tag me, but it’s something I’m not focused on so much. For me, the most important thing is consistency and helping my team win. Individual numbers are more of a bonus than the goal itself.”
It is no surprise that Schröder admires Sam Kerr, another serial goalscorer in tbe women’s game, but growing up she was inspired by a forward in the men’s game. She revealed to me that “one player I always looked up to was Didier Drogba. His strength and movement in the box and ability to show up in the biggest moments are qualities I really admire.”
Schröder has developed a lethal partnership with Anna Anvegård, a player ten years her senior. Anvegård returned to play in the Damallsvenskan after a year in England with Everton, Schröder was full of praise for her strike partner. “Anna is fantastic to play with, I’ve said that so many times.”
“She sees things before they happen. As a striker, that’s actually what you want behind you. We’ve developed a really good understanding to each other. She knows the runs that I like to make and I know when she wants to receive the ball. She’s definitely a creator but also someone who works incredibly hard for the team.”
Last week, BK Häcken lifted their first Damallsvenskan title since the women’s team came under the club’s umbrella in 2021. After finishing second in four successive years, Schröder’s goals helped them finally reach the summit. “It was unbelievable to be honest,” she said. “So much joy, but also a bit of relief I think, especially for myself. After being so close in the previous seasons, finally lifting a trophy means everything to the club and to us players. The celebrations were emotional and loud, definitely something I will never forget.”
Schröder already has experience of playing in the UEFA Women’s Champions League. In 2024, she stared a quarter-final in the Parc des Princes at the age of sixteen. In the two years since, BK Häcken have gone out in the qualifying rounds, agonisingly losing to Atlético in September after extra time in spite a goal from Schröder in the first leg. She admitted to me that “the loss was tough, it stayed with us for a while because it was so close.”
This season however, BK Häcken were offered a second chance, dropping into the new UEFA Women’s Europa Cup. There they have prospered, progressing to the last eight after narrowly overcoming Italian side Inter over two legs this week. “Football moves fast,” Schröder told me, “you have to move with it and live with it. Playing in the Europa Cup gives us a new opportunity to compete internationally.”
Despite being called up and making her first national team start ahead of the tournament, Schröder was ultimately left out of Sweden’s final squad for the UEFA Women’s Euro this summer. She has played in both of Sweden’s games since against world champions Spain and was named again in their squad this week.
“Missing out on the Euros was a disappointment of course, being back now has given me a new opportunity to improve. Now I’m just focusing on working hard and improving taking any chance I get. My goal is of course to be a part of the national team long term but I know it requires consistency every single day.”
Last week, long-time captain Magda Eriksson made the surprise decision to retire from playing in international matches. Schröder is at the forefront of a new teenage generation of Swedish stars breaking into what had become an ageing national team alongside Bella Andersson of Real Madrid and Smilla Holmberg of Hammarby.
Schröder was however grateful for the gracious welcome she received into the national team from senior players like Eriksson. She told me “Magda was amazing in the times I met her. She made everyone feel included, especially younger players coming for the first time. As a captain, she led by example, calm and professional.”
Amid interest from several leading European clubs, Schröder signed a new four-year contract with the Swedish team in the summer. BK Häcken’s football manager Martin Ericsson said “Felicia is a future superstar who we are very proud to have reached an extension with. Words are superfluous when it comes to Felicia and she has shown time and time again that she can handle most things on the pitch. We are very grateful that we get the chance to continue our development together with Felicia.”
According to reports Barcelona, Chelsea, Manchester City and VfL Wolfsburg have been monitoring her progress but for now, the priorty for Schröder is getting minutes on the pitch. “I think that’s really important for young players, that playing time and consistency. That’s how you develop, improve and get better. You want to play. So I think that’s a big reason why I stayed too.”