The Swedish national team has brutal attacking power

The message came via email when I was waiting for the train to Stockholm. Open top at Strawberry field tonight. Why? No answer to that. And too late to repack. No long underwear or winter shoes in the luggage. The rest did one hope for a full stand and a warm, Swedish game.

And thank goodness. There was a crowd of 36,417 as Sweden won 2–1 against Slovakia and took the Group C victory of the Nations League. Then it is difficult to complain that he was cold in the media’s stance.

The first step for confederation captain Jon Dahl Tomasson to become the most important Dane in Swedish history since the astronomer Tycho Brahe spread his knowledge of empirical research and scientific methods from the observatory on Ven near the end the 16th century.

Getting Sweden back into the Nations Leagues-B group is the first of two steps, that is. If Tomasson is to be taken seriously as the Dane he is after all, a successful WC qualification and WC replay in North America in 2026 is also needed. As you know, there is still a long way to go, and another story.

A hysterical national team leader

Here and now? Here and now, Sweden has just beaten Slovakia on a strawberry plantation for a meadow in Solna. The ball jumped and bounced, and Slovakia pigged and laughed and whistled and poured to throw Sweden off balance, chased by the national team captain who was slightly hysterical with the name of pizza pouring on him Francesco Calzona. But the Slovaks didn’t have that much because in the end – the Swedish victory should have been higher than 2-1.

In the middle of the game, GP issued a push called: “Sweden’s new defense strategy: Now we want to win”. I thought yes, it captures today’s national team very well, but why is this article now, in the middle of the game? It turned out, however, that it was about a new military approach with NATO membership.

At least. Jon Dahl Tomasson’s strategy is nothing new to anyone anymore – it’s offense first, early rebounding pressure and play man all over the field. We have also learned to recognize the starting eleven at this stage, but this time team captain Victor Nilsson Lindelöf was back from injury and doing match training for large parts of the autumn The away game against Slovakia was a rare setback, and today “Vigge” left injured after just under half an hour Sad for him indeed, but today it was not a big loss for Swedish national football, it is certainly not worse.

Maybe it started badly…

It could have started badly. Isak Hien hit the ball straight from Sweden’s kick-off, seconds later Anton Salétros lost it outside his own penalty area and Sweden were just beaten by Tomas Suslov from an early deficit. Maybe it was the rotten strawberry carpet that saved Sweden there.

Instead, Sweden’s main goal already in the third minute when Viktor Gyökeres got a better shot in a free position, played by Alexander Isak who received the ball from Yasin Ayari who played loose – directly – -out of a tight central position.

These first three minutes said a lot about the game and about Sweden: My God – that was a poor defensive game. But who cares – with this brutal strike force.

In the early 2000s, they were named Henrik Larsson, Fredrik Ljungberg and Zlatan Ibrahimovic and were named Superswedes – today they are called Gyökeres, Isak and Dejan Kulusevski.

If it did not apply to this game only, Yasin Ayari could also be mentioned in the context. Incredibly nice and easy it solved many tight situations in the middle. Ayari and Isak worked as Sweden came in wave after wave and created chance after chance.

With all that said – this national team is very far from a perfect, ready-made building (if they ever will be). Slovakia was able to equalize at 1-1 easily and fortunately after a sock curler by Dávid Hancko through the ​​post and into the net.

It was a horribly unnecessary goal after Gabriel Gudmundsson’s very stupid effort was cleared, but that’s the way it is with man-to-man defending: every decision in their own half grows so sure because the players are left out of winning. their duel, or they can bang them in the next row.

I still get sick to my stomach every time this national team has to defend, but of course they are just as popular in attack. Viktor Gyökeres gave thanks for the forward play in the first half when, at the start of the second, he dribbled forward to Alexander Isak who corrected and hit the ball into the net – the winning goal.

For the third time in two games, Sweden took the lead against Slovakia, and this time they managed to keep it. Jon Dahl Tomasson was a defense coach for the first time since becoming captain of the Swedish national team when Ayari and Niclas Eliasson retired, and the more defensively oriented players Jesper Karlström and Emil Holm into the last quarter.

Maybe there is hope after all that Sweden will be able to defend Tomasson at some point in the future as well?