àsa Nilla Maria Fischer (born 2 August 1984) is a Swedish former professional footballer and police officer. She played for FC RosengÃÂ¥rd, Linköping FC and VfL Wolfsburg at club level and for the Sweden national team between 2001 and 2022.
Fischer won most of her caps for Sweden as a defensive midfielder after her debut versus Norway in January 2001. She was converted to a centre back by coach Pia Sundhage in 2013.
The change in position coincided with an upturn in goalscoring form for Fischer, who scored three times for hosts Sweden at UEFA Women's Euro 2013. Her performances in Sweden's run to the semi-finals prompted a contract offer from European Champions VfL Wolfsburg and Fischer agreed to move to Germany from 1 January 2014. In August 2013, the clubs reached a deal for "grateful" Fischer's immediate transfer. Fischer played the first competitive game for her new side in the Bundesliga 2013âÂÂ14 season opener against Bayern Munich in front of a home crowd of 8,249 fans on 7 September 2013.
On 28 March 2022 Fischer announced through her Instagram that she wouldn't take part in the forthcoming Team Sweden campaign in UEFA Women's Euro 2022 on grounds that she didn't want to spend most of the summer away from her family. During the championship she appeared as a studio expert in the broadcasts from Swedish public service channel SVT.
On 27 September 2022, Fischer announced her retirement from Team Sweden. On 12 December the same year, she announced her retirement from soccer, and that she would instead educate herself to become a police officer.
On 27 December 2022, she decided to retire from playing. She graduated from the Swedish police academy in July 2025, and started working full-time as a police officer.
Nilla Fischer has represented Sweden in four World Cups (China 2007, Germany 2011, Canada 2015, France 2019) and three Olympic Games (Beijing 2008, London 2012, Rio 2016.) Her squad finished in third place in two of those World Cups (2011 and 2019), and won a silver medal in Rio.
Twice during Olympic play she scored her team's only goal of the match, securing wins against Argentina in 2008 and South Africa in 2016.
Her 35th-minute goal against the USA on the final day of group play in the 2011 World Cup would prove to be the match winner. That result put Sweden atop their group, and is the only time the Americans have suffered defeat in the group stage of a World Cup.
In regards to women's football, Fischer was described in 2017 as "one of the sportâÂÂs most important voices in support of gender equality and LGBT rights".
In 2013, Fischer gave an interview to QX magazine in which she announced her intention to marry her partner Maria Michaela. They married in December 2013.
LdB FC Malmö
VfL Wolfsburg
Sweden
Sweden U19
Sweden U17
Individual