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Sweden struggle against Finland

May 25th, 2006 | By: Jon | 7 Comments »

Sweden were booed off by the fans in Gothenburg after a goalless match against neighbours Finland today. Although looking solid at the back, there were very few chances for the strikers and it’s hard to see where the goals will come from if Sweden play like this in Germany.

It’s not exactly the kind of warm-up match Sweden wanted.

“We’ll need to be on top of our game to beat England,” defender Olof Mellberg told the BBC, after Sweden’s strikers struggled to break through. “They’re all top class players.”

Too right Olof. But we’ll struggle against anyone on this evidence.

The were a couple of positives: Rami Shaban didn’t concede a goal. In fact he looked solid at the back. And Kim Källström looks like he’s played himself into the starting line-up for our opening match. Other than that the big question must surely be: if Zlatan and Henke aren’t scoring, who is going to make something happen for Sweden?

Tags: källström, Mellberg, shaban, sverige, Sweden

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Comments

By Goose Eggs for Sweden and Finland - FIFA World Cup 2006 - World Cup 2006 Blog | May 25th, 2006 at 4:10 pm

[...] Sweden and Finland battled to a 0-0 draw in an exhibition played in the enchanting city of Gothenburg. Sweden coach Lars Lagerback chose to rest some of his key players including Henrik Larsson, Freddie Ljungberg, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Andreas Isaksson. Our Sweden blog reports that the team was booed off the field after it ended. The Swedes have one more warm-up ahead of the World Cup when they play on June 2 against Chile in Stockholm. [...]

Posted from United States

By swede | May 25th, 2006 at 5:23 pm

the game vs. finland should not be taken seriously as it only was to test players. the defense had 2 ordinary players and had another 2 changes after halftime, none of the ordinary strikers played. and on the midfield there were three changes. ljungberg and larsson werent even on the bench. so for all of you that think sweden will have trouble scoring goals, think again. this was only a game to give some past injured players some gametime and non-ordinary players to try take a spot as a substitute

Posted from Sweden

By Raheel | May 25th, 2006 at 6:50 pm

Sweden have no reason to despair about the team’s performance in the Friendly against Finland. The match was used by Coach Lagerback to give his fringe players a run-in. Come the World Cup , Team Sweden will be at its strongest. As for goalscoring , if the veteran forward, Larsson, maintains his excellent form this season for Barca, Sweden will progress steadily.

Posted from India

By Martin | May 25th, 2006 at 10:48 pm

Sweden will be fine for the World Cup. I think they will come close, and might even win the group ahead of England. Larsson is just sensational … sad to see him semi-retire to Sweden. You guys also need a fit Freddie.

Go Australia!

By South Korea Defeats Bosnia in First of Four Friendlies Today - FIFA World Cup 2006 - World Cup 2006 Blog | May 26th, 2006 at 9:21 am

[...] Results this week: South Korea 1 Senegal 1 Croatia 4 Austria 1 Morocco 1 United States 0 Paraguay 2 Norway 2 Ecuador 1 Colombia 1 Australia 1 Greece 0 Sweden 0 Finland 0 Fancy a flutter? Free £25 Bet on World Cup 2006 Category: World Cup 2006, Friendlies Tags: South Korea, Bosnia, Saudi Arabia, Czech Repblic, Ghana, Turkey, United States, Venezuela, Friendlies, Tim Howard, Tag Index « Daily Dose 05.26 | Home | If you found “South Korea Defeats Bosnia in First of Four Friendlies Today” useful or interesting, please share it with others by bookmarking it at the following sites: .wp-notable img {border: none;margin-left:5px;} Leave a Reply [...]

Posted from United States

By United States Defeat Venezuela - FIFA World Cup 2006 - World Cup 2006 Blog | May 26th, 2006 at 8:26 pm

[...] Results this week: South Korea 1 Senegal 1 Croatia 4 Austria 1 Morocco 1 United States 0 Paraguay 2 Norway 2 Ecuador 1 Colombia 1 Australia 1 Greece 0 Sweden 0 Finland 0 South Korea 2 Bosnia 0 Ghana 1 Turkey 1 Czech Republic 2 Saudi Arabia 0 Fancy a flutter? Free £25 Bet on World Cup 2006 Category: World Cup 2006, Group E, Friendlies Tags: Unites States, Venezuela, Brina Ching, Clint Dempsey, Tag Index « Winners and Losers of the World Cup Week | Home | If you found “United States Defeat Venezuela” useful or interesting, please share it with others by bookmarking it at the following sites: .wp-notable img {border: none;margin-left:5px;} Leave a Reply [...]

Posted from United States

By Jon | May 27th, 2006 at 2:26 am

Raheel, I know what you mean. It’s just disheartening not being able to rollover the Finns.

And Martin, I agree: a fit Freddie is important but he’s never really done as well for the national squad as he has for Arsenal. He’s seen as something of a diva in Sweden, like Zlatan. But he’s definitely capable of turning a match.

Posted from Sweden

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