Matilda Nildén

Matilda Nildén
Nildén with BK Häcken in 2025
Personal information
Full name Matilda Elsa Engla Nildén[1]
Date of birth (2004-11-10) 10 November 2004[2]
Place of birth Danderyd, Sweden[3]
Height 1.60 m (5 ft 3 in)[3]
Position Forward
Team information
Current team
 Tottenham Hotspur
Number 14
Youth career
2010–2020 IF Brommapojkarna
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2020 IF Brommapojkarna 16 (2)
2021–2023 AIK 60 (25)
2021 → Bollstanäs SK (loan) 1 (0)
2024–2025 BK Häcken 49 (8)
2026– Tottenham Hotspur 0 (0)
International career‡
2021 Sweden U17 3 (1)
2022–2023 Sweden U19 17 (7)
2023– Sweden U23 21 (4)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 16:48, 31 December 2025 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals as of 16:48, 31 December 2025 (UTC)

Matilda Elsa Engla Nildén (born 10 November 2004) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a forward for English Women's Super League club Tottenham Hotspur. She has previously played in Sweden for Damallsvenskan and Elitettan clubs IF Brommapojkarna, AIK, and BK Häcken.

Club career

Brommapojkarna

Nildén started playing for Stockholm-based club IF Brommapojkarna around the age of 6. She was moved to the club's under-17 team in 2020 and quickly rose through the ranks to the under-19 squad. The same year, she signed her first professional contract with the club. She made her senior debut in a practice match just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit; during the game, she scored a hat-trick after coming on as a halftime substitute.[4] She left Brommapojkarna in 2021 in search of new development opportunities.[5]

AIK

In the summer of 2021, top-flight club AIK recruited Nildén.[6] She made her Damallsvenskan debut in August 2021 at the age of 16[7] and went on to play in ten games in her first season for AIK.[8] She also spent the end of 2021 on loan in the Elitettan for Bollstanäs SK alongside multiple other young players from AIK.[9] She scored her first Damallsvenskan goal in 2022, in a loss to Nildén's future club BK Häcken. She started a total of 17 matches as AIK were relegated down to the Elitettan after finishing the 2022 Damallsvenskan in last place.[6][8]

In August 2023, Nildén went viral after being soaked by a stadium water sprinkler during a halftime interview in a game against Eskilstuna United. Nevertheless, she returned to the field in the second half and scored to help AIK win the match.[10][11] Goalscoring would prove to be a common trend throughout the season for Nildén, who scored 23 times across 25 matches. She finished in second place in the Elitettan goal leaderboard, just behind Adelisa Grabus.[12] In September 2023, she recorded a hat-trick against Trelleborgs FF to secure a top 3 finish in the league;[13] AIK would reach even greater heights, winning the Elitettan title several games early, finishing the season undefeated,[7] and scoring a record 97 goals.[8] At the end of the year, Nildén chose not to extend her contract with the club, sparking backlash from the AIK fanbase.[14]

BK Häcken

Nildén's performances for AIK caught the eye of many clubs, including multiple in the Damallsvenskan.[15][6] In January 2024, she decided on BK Häcken FF, signing through the 2026 season.[16][17] On 9 March 2024, she registered a debut goal in a cup match against Växjö DFF within only a few minutes of entering the game.[18] She scored her first league goal for the club in May 2024, netting the game-tying goal that sparked a late Häcken comeback against her former team, AIK.[19] Over the rest of the season, Nildén struggled to earn significant playing time as Häcken finished the year as Damallsvenskan runners-up. However, she ended the season on a positive note, scoring two goals against another one of her former clubs, IF Brommapojkarna, to guarantee Häcken's second-place league finish.[20]

The following year, Nildén kicked off the season with a bang, tallying two goals against Vittsjo in a 7–1 cup victory.[21] She went on to start 11 of her 25 Damallsvenskan matches across the year.[22] She helped Häcken win the 2025 Damallsvenskan title, the club's first since 2020.[23] She departed from the club having recorded 48 appearances and 8 goals across two years of league competition.[22]

Tottenham Hotspur

On 31 December 2025, English Women's Super League club Tottenham Hotspur announced that they had acquired Nildén from Häcken for an undisclosed transfer fee and signed her to a long-term contract.[15][24] The move reunited Nildén with her sister, Amanda, as well as former Häcken teammates Hanna Wijk and Josefine Rybrink.[25]

International career

Nildén has played for the Swedish U17, U19, and U23 youth national teams.[22] She has made 17 appearances for the under-17 team, multiple of which were as a member of the squad that made it to the semifinals of the 2022 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship. Nildén made her first appearance for the under-23 team in the summer of 2023, capping off her debut with a goal against China.[10] She has gone on to record 4 goals in 21 appearances for the U17s across three years.[16]

Personal life

Born in Daneryd,[3] Nildén went to high school in Stockholm.[5]

Nildén's grandfather, Jim Nildén, made over 120 Allsvenskan appearances for AIK's men's team, while her father, David, played one season for the same club.[18] Her sister, Amanda, plays for the Sweden national team and with Matilda at Tottenham Hotspur.[4] Her brother, Charlie, also plays professionally.[26]

References

  1. ^ "Matilda Elsa Engla Nildén". Aftonbladet. Retrieved 3 January 2026.
  2. ^ Matilda Nildén at FBref.com
  3. ^ a b c "Matilda Nildén". BK Häcken. Retrieved 3 January 2026.
  4. ^ a b "Framtiden Är Vår – Matilda Nildén". Svenskfotboll (in Swedish). 7 June 2020. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  5. ^ a b "Uppflyttning och målsuccé för Matilda Nildén". Svenskfotboll (in Swedish). 4 December 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  6. ^ a b c "Matilda Nildén vill bli en nyckelspelare: "Jag får rätt hjälp här"". bkhacken.se (in Swedish). 12 April 2024. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  7. ^ a b ""Orkar inte lägga fokus på vad andra säger nu"". Expressen (in Swedish). 3 January 2024. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  8. ^ a b c "Stor intervju med Matilda Nildén". Stor intervju med Matilda Nildén (in Swedish). Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  9. ^ "Inför Dam: Bollstanäs SK – BP – BP" (in Swedish). 27 August 2021. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  10. ^ a b "Miljontals har sett viralt klipp: "Blev så chockad"". www.expressen.se (in Swedish). 17 August 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  11. ^ Tolén, Martin (13 August 2023). "Nildén i klassisk tv-intervju – attackerad (!) av vattenspridare". Ekuriren (in Swedish). Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  12. ^ "Spelarstatistik - Svensk fotboll". svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 14 November 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  13. ^ "AIK gick segrande ur seriefinalen". www.elitettan.se (in Swedish). 16 September 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  14. ^ Sundberg, Sanna (5 January 2024). "Matilda Nildén: "Det är här jag vill vinna SM-guld"". Göteborgs-Posten (in Swedish). Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  15. ^ a b "Matilda Nildén deal agreed". Tottenham Hotspur. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  16. ^ a b "Matilda Nildén är klar för BK Häcken". bkhacken.se (in Swedish). 3 January 2024. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  17. ^ "Fotboll: Systrarna Matilda och Amanda Nildén blir lagkamrater i Tottenham". SVT Sport (in Swedish). 31 December 2025. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  18. ^ a b Janlind, Fredrik (9 March 2024). "Succé direkt för Matilda Nildén – slog till i debuten för Häcken". Göteborgs-Posten (in Swedish). Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  19. ^ "Nildén hjälte – Häcken vann efter drama mot AIK". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). 18 May 2024. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  20. ^ Sundberg, Tor (9 November 2024). "Matilda Nildén sänkte sin gamla klubb: "Känns bra"". FotbollDirekt (in Swedish). Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  21. ^ Jansson, Moa (3 March 2025). "Häcken fick drömstart – Nilden tvåmålsskytt". FotbollDirekt (in Swedish). Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  22. ^ a b c Matilda Nildén at the Swedish Football Association (in Swedish)
  23. ^ TT (31 December 2025). "Nildén lämnar – blir lagkamrat med Nildén". Göteborgs-Posten (in Swedish). Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  24. ^ "Officiellt: Häcken säljer Matilda Nildén till Tottenham - Women's Super League - Fotbollskanalen". Fotbollskanalen (in Swedish). Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  25. ^ Asahara, Makoto (31 December 2025). "Officiellt: Systrarna återförenas – Matilda Nildén till Spurs". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  26. ^ Wixtröm, Foto: Peter (15 November 2024). "Charlie Nildén om debuten i allsvenskan: "Helt otroligt"". www.aftonbladet.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 31 December 2025.
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