Elma Junttila Nelhage

Elma Junttila Nelhage
Junttila Nelhage with Sweden in 2026
Personal information
Full name Elma Novah Junttila Nelhage
Date of birth (2003-05-21) 21 May 2003
Place of birth Hisingen, Sweden
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position Defender
Team information
Current team
 Lyon
Number 5
Youth career
–2019 IK Zenith
2019–2020 Kopparbergs/Göteborg
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2021–2024 BK Häcken 51 (2)
2021 → Kolbotn (loan) 14 (0)
2023 BK Häcken II 1 (0)
2025– Lyon 14 (1)
International career‡
2018–2020 Sweden U17 22 (1)
2021–2022 Sweden U19 10 (1)
2022–2025 Sweden U23 16 (0)
2025– Sweden 7 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 28 March 2026
‡ National team caps and goals as of 18 April 2026

Elma Novah Junttila Nelhage (born 21 May 2003) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a defender for Première Ligue club Lyon and the Sweden national team. She has previously played in the Damallsvenskan for BK Häcken, and in the Toppserien for Kolbotn.

Club career

BK Häcken

Junttila Nelhage was born in Hisingen, Sweden.[1] She began her professional career with BK Häcken, which she signed her first professional contract with in March 2021. She spent most of the 2021 campaign out on loan, playing for Kolbotn, who placed sixth in the Norwegian top division Toppserien. Nelhage made 14 league appearances of which she started in 12.[2]

She made her debut in the Damallsvenskan, the top tier of Swedish women's football, in 2022.[3][4] Nelhage scored her first Damallsvenskan goal on October 10, 2024, against Vittsjö GIK.[5] With BK Häcken, she made a total of 91 appearances across all competitions, scoring 3 goals. In the league alone, she played 51 matches, including 18 starts in 20 appearances during the 2023/2024 season.[6]

Lyon

On 3 January 2025, she joined Lyon, after her contract with BK Häcken expired,[7] signing a contract until 30 June 2027.[8][6] At the time of her signing, she was the only left-footed central defender in the squad.[9] She made her debut for Lyon on 14 March 2025, coming on as a substitute in a league match against Stade de Reims.[10]

International career

Junttila Nelhage has represented Sweden at various youth levels. She made her senior team debut on 28 October 2025 in a 1–0 loss to Spain.[11]

Career statistics

International

As of match played 18 April 2026[12]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Sweden 202530
202640
Total70

Honours

Lyon

References

  1. ↑ "Elma Junttila Nelhage". soccerdonna.de. Retrieved 2025-04-04.
  2. ↑ "Junttila Nelhage förlänger sitt kontrakt". BK Häcken (in Swedish). 2022-03-23. Retrieved 2025-08-17.
  3. ↑ Balkander, Mattias (2021-03-19). "Häcken flyttar upp fem juniorer till A-truppen". Göteborgs-Posten (in Swedish). Retrieved 2025-04-04.
  4. ↑ TT (2025-01-03). "Lämnar Häcken för fransk storklubb". Göteborgs-Posten (in Swedish). Retrieved 2025-04-04.
  5. ↑ "Elma Junttila Nelhage gjorde sitt första damallsvenska mål". bkhacken.se (in Swedish). 2024-10-10. Retrieved 2025-04-04.
  6. 1 2 "Elma Junttila Nelhage rejoint l'OL Féminin !". www.ol.fr. Retrieved 2025-04-04.
  7. ↑ Sport, S. V. T. (2025-01-01). "Fotboll: Avslöjar: Elma Junttila Nelhage lämnar Häcken – klar för Lyon". SVT Sport (in Swedish). Retrieved 2025-04-04.
  8. ↑ "L'OL recrute la Suédoise Elma Junttila Nelhage gratuitement". L'Équipe (in French). Retrieved 2025-04-04.
  9. ↑ "Football. OL féminin : Elma Junttila Nelhage, une gauchère «rare en Europe»". www.leprogres.fr (in French). 2025-01-06. Retrieved 2025-05-01.
  10. ↑ "Arkema Première Ligue: Premier match pour Elma sous les couleurs de l'Olympique Lyonnais". Coeurs de foot (in French). Retrieved 2025-04-04.
  11. ↑ "Elma Junttila Nelhage Shines in Sweden's National Team Debut". 28 October 2025. Retrieved 9 May 2026.
  12. ↑ Elma Junttila Nelhage at Soccerway
  13. ↑ "Arkema Première Ligue : OL Lyonnes écrase le Paris FC en finale et remporte son 19e titre" (in French). 29 May 2026. Retrieved 29 May 2026.
  14. ↑ "OL Lyonnes écoeure encore le PSG et remporte la Coupe de France" (in French). 10 May 2026. Retrieved 10 May 2026.
  15. ↑ "La première pour OL Lyonnes" (in French). 14 March 2026. Retrieved 9 May 2026.
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