Dahlkvist is a central midfield player whose main strength is her range of passing. UEFA.com wrote that Dahlkvist also reads the game well and takes responsibility during matches, a trait apparent even when she was a youngster. During the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup, the "Dagens Nyheter" newspaper described the industrious Dahlkvist as a "tough workhorse in both defence and attack". She is seen as a player who thrives on the big occasion and won praise for calmly converting her 2011 World Cup penalty past the United States' celebrated goalkeeper Hope Solo, a feat she repeated in the Rio Olympics.