Schweden vs. England

[3lions]

If Sven-Goran Eriksson was hoping a return to his native Sweden would provide some respite from the unflattering headlines of the past week, he was mistaken.

New contract or no new contract, Eriksson needs success on the pitch to safeguard his position and England suffered at the hands of Sweden yet again in Gothenburg.

Having now failed to beat the Swedes in 11 attempts since 1968, the England coach found no home comforts in the city where he first made his name as a manager.

While a largely second-string England side hit the woodwork twice, a second-half strike by Zlatan Ibrahimovic condemned the visitors to another friendly defeat.

Eriksson had insisted just a few hours before this game that "it is not life or death, that is in Portugal" and he is correct in sporting terms.

There were at least some positive signs, albeit among his supporting cast, as Owen Hargreaves impressed on the right and Jermain Defoe was a livewire figure up front.

But in the final game before he must pick his provisional 23-man squad for the Euro 2004 finals, it was Sweden who dominated the entire second half and could easily have increased their lead.

Then again, this was the first time Eriksson had sent out a side missing David Beckham and Michael Owen, and it was hardly surprising the inspiration of his two leading lights was missed.

Indeed, with a whole host of regulars absent, this was very much a shadow side, with at most five first-choice players in the starting line-up.

That was hardly surprising in a friendly at this delicate stage of the domestic season and neither was the languid pace of the game.

Instead, what was astonishing was to see Olof Mellberg rushing headlong into a foul on - of all people - his Aston Villa team-mate Darius Vassell.

As a result, Vassell's first international start since facing Sweden at the 2002 World Cup lasted all of 11 minutes before he was replaced suffering from a twisted ankle. David O'Leary's thoughts were not hard to imagine.

On went Defoe for his senior debut and if the Tottenham striker lacks anything, it is certainly not confidence.

Within two minutes, he had tried his luck from long range and when the ball was turned goalwards at close range by Wayne Rooney, it struck the post and rebounded across the face of goal.

Although England were not dominating possession, they were at least creating the best chances at this stage.

Indeed, Hargreaves, who was wearing Beckham's number seven shirt, did a passable impersonation of the England captain as he struck a 25-yard free-kick against the crossbar on 26 minutes.

Sweden were restricted to rather less successful long-range efforts from Anders Svensson and Anders Andersson.

However, Hargreaves, in an industrious display, not only headed narrowly past his own post but also weaved inside at the right end and had a shot tipped around the upright.

England still lacked real width, with Alan Thompson failing to find any crossing opportunities.

However, the Celtic midfielder caused enough confusion in the Swedish defence to leave Rooney with another opening that was blocked just before the break.

The interval was the inevitable cue for further substitutions, with Gareth Southgate and Anthony Gardner replacing the largely effective duo of John Terry and fit-again Jonathan Woodgate.

Sweden, meanwhile, made five changes - one of whom, Everton's Tobias Linderoth - promptly passed the ball to Defoe, who charged towards goal, skipped inside and unleashed a drive that was tipped over.

The lively Tottenham striker then volleyed into the side netting from a tight angle, but England were soon behind amid hesitation in their makeshift defence.

Kim Kallstrom's cross was met by Ibrahimovic, who scooped one of his long legs around the static figure of Jamie Carragher and clipped the ball past David James.

Eriksson's response was to introduce Emile Heskey up front, with Joe Cole, Jermaine Jenas and the unfortunate Alan Smith - out on the right flank - coming into the midfield with 30 minutes left.

England were, however, restricted to hopeful long-range efforts from Cole, Heskey and Defoe as they laboured in search of an equaliser.

Instead, Kallstrom thundered a shot into the side netting, while Christian Wilhelmsson nutmegged Neville with embarrassing ease and was only denied by James' sprawling save.

Kallstrom's volley was also held by James and when Cole was finally handed the chance to equalise in the final minute, the Chelsea midfielder volleyed wide.

It was just that sort of night. Eriksson's real test will come this summer and England have always tended to raise their game for competitive fixtures. On this evidence, they will need to.

Teams:

Sweden Isaksson (Kihlstedt 45), Lucic, Mellberg (Hansson 45), Mjallby, Edman, Nilsson, Anders Andersson (Linderoth 45), Anders Svensson (Kallstrom 45), Wilhelmsson, Ibrahimovic (Ostlund 90), Elmander (Jonson 45).

Subs Not Used: Hedman, Christoffer Andersson, Dorsin, Farnerud.

Booked: Edman.

Goals: Ibrahimovic 54.

England James, Neville, Terry (Southgate 45), Woodgate (Gardner 45), Carragher, Hargreaves (Jenas 60), Gerrard (Joe Cole 60), Butt (Parker 78), Thompson (Smith 60), Vassell (Defoe 12), Rooney (Heskey 60).

Subs Not Used: Robinson, Mills, Green, Walker, Samuel, Wright-Phillips.

Booked: Neville.

Att: 40,464

Ref: Tom Ovrebo (Norway).

[goleador2000]

Habe auf der ARD eine Kurzzusammenfassung des Spiels gesehen...England hatte mehr Chancen und traf durch Rooney bzw. Hargreaves(Freistoß) zweimal die Stange bzw. Latte...besonders stark in Erscheinung traten Beckham-Ersatz Owen Hargreaves, Wayne Rooney und der Debütant Jermaine Defoe, der in der 2. Halbzeit den Ausgleich mehrmals auf dem Fuß hatte...

Fazit: eine unglückliche Niederlage für die Engländer - aber man darf das Match nicht überbewerten - Eriksson fehlten viele Stammkräfte(Beckham, Owen, Lampard etc. etc.) und einige Spieler absolvierten ihr Länderspieldebüt - der Teamchef hat sicher seine Schlüsse gezogen und weiß, daß die Ersatzbank nachdrängt, falls arrivierte Stammkräfte ausfallen !!!

[Marcelinho]

Klasse Tor von Zlatan Ibrahimovic