LiveBlog: England-Sweden

June 20th, 2006 | by: Chris Heidrich | Comments(278)

Sweden snatched a late goal to draw England. England defended terribly from set pieces and corners, while Rooney looked pissed about being taken off just after halftime. England finish top of the group with 7 points, and Sweden join then in the Round of 16 with 5 points. Thanks for all your comments and looking forward to the next one.

Final: England 2-2 Sweden

Full-time: Well, for once my prediction was correct. England snatched a draw from the jaws of victory. They still finish top of the group, but the games they have played have not instilled any confidence that they will progress deep into the tournament. The Ecuador game should be a cracker as the speedy, physical South Americans try to expose the weaknesses of Terry and Ferdinand (let’s hope Sol does not play).

Sweden looked a shell of their former selves tonight. They will need Ibrahimovic to be fit for the next game or they will get man-handled by Germany. They’re a decent team, but not very deep. It doesn’t look good for them to progress past the hosts.

91:22 – Amazing. This game has 3 additoinal minutes to be played, but we may as well go home now. England still qualify first and will play Ecuador in the round of 16. Sweden will face Germany and English fans can be frustrated as hell with their team’s second half performance.

89:40 – GGGGGOOOOAAAALLLLL!! Sweden. The hex continues. England concede from a corner (surprise) and Larsson nips in the get the goal. Sol Campbell to blame there. Robinson was a joke, Ashley Cole should have stayed at home on his post, and England still cannot beat Sweden.

88:00 – More corners for Sweden. Linderoth has been giving great service. JohnTerry clears. Intensity is high now for the final minutes. Sweden desparate for a draw even though it doesn’t matter. Paraguay just scored their second on T&T.

86:06 – Sweden rocked by the goal. A corner for them but England deals with it this time. Another booking, this time for Ljungberg after colliding with Brazilian Englishman Joe Cole. Looked like a bump, but nothing vicious. Silly card for Ljungberg. But aren’t they all.

84:49 – GGGOOOOAAAAALLLLLL! England. Gerrard heads home from a Brazilian Englishman Joe Cole cross from the opposite side. Nice finish by the Liverpool man.

84:13 – Game devolving a little. Mostly being played in midfield, no side really taking many chances in attack.

82:45 – Brazilian Englishman Joe Cole gets scythed down from behind, which earns a yellow card for Alexandersson. Cole is fine, but in a bit of distress. Silly foul.

81:14 – England working their way up the field with a series of free kicks. Sam,e position as the Paraguay own goal in England’s first game. Beckham can’t deliver though and it sails harmlessly over the bar.

78:57 – Ljungberg breaks free and Hargreaves brings him down. Could easily have been another yellow card for him. The free kick again puts England in some bother at the back. Germany will kill them if they meet in the second round.

77:00 – Unusually Beckham is the forwardmost English player and the balls gets pumped into the box. Again he can’t head for shit and Edman clears for a corner. From the corner, England get a header on goal from Crouch but it’s straight at the keeper.

75:15 – Yellow card for Hargreaves. The first of the match. Seemed a little harsh for handball, but he’s annoying so I don’t care. Free kick for Sweden and again England cannot defend a set piece. The ball goes all the way across the 6 yard box without being touched.

73:53 – Goalscorer Allback off for Elmander. Is he an attacking player or is Sweden playing for the draw now? You’d think they’d have their tails up now. Let’s hope we don’t see a defensive last 15 mins.

72:50 – Beckham showing again that he’s crap in the air. He may have been held by Edman but he never jumped.

70:45 – Shot of Rooney on the bench. He’s either pissed at his performance or pissed at being taken off. I guess the latter. Corner for Sweden and again another chance saved off the line Gerrard clears Kallstrom’s mis-timed side volley after Robinson was well beaten.

68:45 – Rooney off, Gerrard on. Guess he’ll play in an attacking role since England don’t have much else. I would have preferred to see Lennon to give England some spark down the wing. Brazilian Englishman Joe Cole has been absent this half and Gerrard can’t afford to pick up another yellow card. And what about Wallcott?

66:50 – England’s attack breaks down….again… Sweden build and take their time. They are in control in this game now. Carragher is doing plenty of running chasing down the balls that Allback won’t leave alone. Who wants this one more? Crouch doing some work in the defensive third.

64:45 – Rare corner for England. Rooney looking red in the face. Crouch rose well to meet the corner but heads wide. England with 12 shots to Sweden’s 7, but all of Sweden’s coming in the second half.

63:16 – Shot of Sven on the bench. He’s looking a little anxious. Swedes really taking the game to England now. Nice to se after their lacklustre opening half of football.

62:00 – Great saving tackle by Sol Campbell as Sweden had a shooting chance on the edge of the English area.

60:40 – England trying to claw their way back into the match. Needing some sustained possession, which they’re doing. Not getting anywhere, but not conceding a corner either which is basically a license for Sweden to get a shot on goal.

58:40 – Another great chance for Sweden from another corner. England defendsing terribly from set pieces. Ball headed back across the area and Mellberg side volleys onto the crossbar. England leading a charmed life.

56:48 – Service from Brazilian Englishman Joe Cole getting better from the left side of the pitch. Not getting much support from England’s forwards though. Rio Ferdinand came off for Campbell. Let’s hope we see Sol’s head’s in the game.

55:16 – Replay shows Robinson almost getting out of the way of the header that came towards him from the corner. Still, he did enough to knock it onto the bar so I guess it was a good save. Campbell on the England in all the confusion, but I didn’t see for who.

53:40 – Jonsson off for Rat-boy. Another Swedish corner and off the cross bar. Great chance for Sweden and suddenly this game has come alive. Think it was Ljungberg with the chance. I gotta learn to type properly.

52:01 – Swedish coach Lagerback is going for the win now, looking to bring rat-boy Wilhelmsson on. England should step up the tempo hear if they want to win out the group. Nice cross by Joe Cole but Crouch was napping ball breaks the 18 yard box and Crouch spins and shoots but it dribbles to the keeper.

50:06 – GGGGOOOAAAALLLLL! for Sweden. The bloke I’ve been ripping all game, Allback scores with a header. Ashley Cole tried to save on the line but it was too powerful. Allback scores the 2000th goal in World Cup history. Just as well cos he likey won’t score another.

49:35 – Sweden starting to show more spark. Someone woke Ljungberg up at half time.

47:40 – Crouch kicks the crap out of Kallstrom with his 14 foot leg span. The first twig missed him but the second sweep caught Kim and the ball spilled free.

46:31 – Allback reminds me of a cartoon character. His legs move really fast but he getsnowhere. Does the Swedish league really suck that bad that he’s the leading scorer?

45:01 – Second half underway. Too bad Cole is on the far wing now. I won’t get to see him quite as much. Will we see Walcott this game? I think yes.

Half-time: All the creative play and attacking football Sweden showed against T&T and Paraguay (even though they failed to score) is non-existant today. They are missing Zlatan as a target man and Wilhelmsson as an attacking option on the wing. I can’t remember a single decent Sweden chance all half.

England, for their part, are playing fairly well. Beckham has been quiet but Brazilian Englishman Joe Cole has been very busy and productive. His final pass has been so-so, but he’s always dangerous. His goal was pretty to watch but I’m still not convinced he meant it to go where it did. Crouch has been busy after coming on for the injured Owen, but not active in the box. Lampard is threatening to score from outside the area again, and Rooney is obviously enjoying the playing time, but no one else for England is really standing out. They are defending well as a unit but they haven’t really has to deal with much creatively from Sweden.

Let’s see how the teams shape up for the second half. Let’s hope Sweden comes out with more attacking flair and takes the game to England.

44:49 – Amazingly it is England who are battling harder for the loose ball. Even though Paraguay are winning, the Swedes you’d think would be keen to chase a draw at least. Lampard makes a run into the box but his chip shot is easily caught by the ‘keeper.

41:24 – Ref is not letting Robinson get away with any time wasting. Rooney is looking busy but his timing is just a little bit off. The runs, touch and pases are not quite there yet. This workout will do him the world of good. Corner to England. Joe Cole and Beckham are pasing to each other across the 18 yard box. Eventual shot from Rooney is well struck but well overthe bar too. Not his usual style.

39:39 – Shot just over the bar from Lampard. He doesn’t want Brazilian Englishman Joe Cole to have all the glory in the dressing room for a screamer from 40 yards.

37:37 – Goal disallowed for Paraguay and T&T breathes a sigh of relief. No doubt Sweden is keeping a close eye on that game. If Paraguay wins, they can still loose this game and progress. Of course, the better course of action is to score, but so far it’s not been clear where the goals will come from. Allback has bene invisible, Larsson ineffective and Kallstrom the only bright spark.

35:25 – Happy for Cole to get that goal. He’s worked really hard for the team and that will give him some more confidence. Not that he really needs it, but the tricks and moves will only increase now, especially that the game does not have too much riding on it. I think he’s been given more license by Sven this game.

32:30 – GGGGGGOOOOOAAAAALLLLLL!!!!!! Brazilian Englishman Joe Cole mis-kick ends up in the back of the net. Amazing goal that he’ll tell you he meant. Okay, on the replay he hit it true, but it was a looping old shot that was in the perfect place where the Swedish keeper could only get a hand to it.

30:40 – Bit of niggle entering the game. Mostly by England on the Swedes but only because the Swedes are better divers.

28:40 – England not looking dangerous, but set pieces are their specialty. An injury to swollen foot Ljungberg. Replay shows Carragher barely touched him, but if that foot is swelling with blood by the minute, I’m sure the slightest touch is enough to make him squeal.

27:11 – No goals here still, but Paraguay have scored via an own goal by Brent Sancho. Too bad for the big man. He proposed to his girlfriend via text message right before the England game.

24:45 – Rooney showing why he’s in the team. Brings a long ball down with one touch over the shoulder then battles into the box. His shot is blocked but that was real danger for the Swedes. Replay shows he took a knock on the foot while he was at it. He didn’t dive and his metatarsal appears fine.

23:33 – England have a free kick from a deeper position but Beckham’s ball is cleared away. Joe Cole’s deep cross is met but played too strong across the area by Crouch and the move breaks down.

22:00 – Kallstrom tries a shot/cross which sails harmlessly away and a view of the Swedish crowd show they’re not happy about it.

21:34 – Sweden have a free kick on the right side but no one in England knows why. Ashley Cole pleads to no avail.

20:13 – Crouch coming very deep to receive the ball. The ball breaks forward and Brazilian Englishman Joe Cole squeezes off a shot at the edge of the area that just flies over the bar. Noce effort and will give England confidence.

18:42 – Corner for Sweden laid to the far post where the Croatian defender volleys into an English player for another corner. It looked well struck and goal bound.

17:00 – Corner to Sweden, dealt with by England, but not before a weak punch by Robinson. The Black Cat is not so agile. Sweden starting to mount some possession and lay seige to the England penalty area.

15:29 – Brazilian Englishman Joe Cole showing he wants to be in the next Joga Bonito commercial (need to wear Nike for that, mate). His eventual cross (after 10 step-overs) is too high for Crouch, which tells you just how high he must have kicked it.

14:06 – Sweden coming foward and again it’s Kallstrom who wins a header in the box. It goes softly wide, but Sweden showing they can attack.

13:08 – Rooney is hustling and bustling but not really getting a good touch on the ball to this point. All England wants him to be their saviour in this World Cup. Let’s hope that metatarsal is made of stern stuff.

11:30 – Nice build up by England falls short when Brazilian Englishman Joe Cole’s cross is partially blocked on the left wing and Sweden clear.

09:45 – Brazilian Englishman Joe Cole releases Rooney but he’s called offside. Replay shows a blown call by the linesman. Too bad for England.

08:30 – Swollen foot Lungfish Ljungberg is whinging again. Great player, but boy can he whinge. You’d think he’d be a naturalized Englishman with all that whinging.

07:12 – Kallstrom, having earned his place in the starting line up for Sweden, is proving a handful in the English area. Whistle blown for a foul and the danger passes.

06:01 – Brazilian Englishman Joe Cole with a quick run up the wing but it goes nowhere. Still no goals here. Another shot by Lampard, straight at the ‘keeper.

04:11 – Sweden excerting some pressure. Wonder if the Owen injury will effect England’s focus. Corner for Sweden. Carragher having problems with the wily Larsson.

2:20 – Shot from Lampard scewed wide. Owen on a stretcher. We’re not seeing him again tonight. Bad news for the little striker, good news for England cos he was not in good form. Crouch comes in to replace Owen. Let’s hope it’s not serious.

01:20 – Early scare for England as Owen goes down clutching his knee. Was not under challenge, he just twisted it. England playing with 10 men for the moment.

00:30 – England ‘keeper Robinson looking very sharp in all black. Not doubt they’ll be referencing the Black Cat at some point during the game.

00:01 – We’re off. Let the war begin and let’s see some balls hitting the back of the net. Goals have been hard to come by for both teams. Own goals and late winners have been the order of the day. We’ll be keeping one eye on the T&T vs Paraguay game too and try to keep up with the permutations and computations of Group B.

National Anthems: Swedes a mixed bag of who’s singing and who’s not. They look pretty loose and relaxed. Let’s hope they’re taking the game somewhat seriously and they haven’t come to some handshake agreement in the tunnel with England ala Germany vs Austria.

England belting out God Save the Queen to a man. Except Rooney who may be struggling not to cry. he again he may be struggling to put a thought together. Hard to tell.

Few minutes to go: Good news for England as the line-ups are displayed. Ibrahimovic is out, Allback taking his place. Allback couldn’t hit a barn door with a bucket of rice in the last two games so England can simply leave him to his own devices.

England wearing their snazzy red away jerseys. Sweden in traditional yellow. Great support for both teams in the crowd, as you’d expect. Lot’s of these players will know each other well, most of them making their livings in England, or have at one point.

Pregame: What is your prediction?
I’m going out on a limb, well not that much of a limb since I’m giving two results, but I reckon this game will be a 2-2 draw or 3-0 to England. The weight of history is against the English, who have not won against the Swedes since they last had a King, or some silly number like that.

Ironically for Trinidad & Tobago, all the press and whinging about Crouch’s foul on Sancho for England’s first goal, they now must support England for them to beat Sweden so that if T&T win their game against Paraguay they have an outside shot at qualifying for the seond round. Goals will be important in both games, but will England go for the jugular if they are 1 or 2 goals up, knowing a late equalizer does not matter to them.