When Sweden plays the World Cup playoffs in March next year, it will be without Emil Krafth and Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the home meeting with Czech Republic at Friends arena. This is because both drew a warning in the last World Cup qualifier against Spain.
For the latter, the yellow card could definitely be avoided. It was in extra time at an offensive corner that Zlatan Ibrahimovic handed out a proper push in the back of Spain’s César Azpilicueta, which the referee did not miss.
– It is not good, says Janne Andersson about missing her 40-year-old Milan star when Sweden continues to chase a World Cup participation in Qatar next year.
– It was not a good yellow card to wear either. I would like to have all the players available, of course, when we enter the playoffs. But now Zlatan and Emil Krafth are suspended and we have to deal with that with the players we have, he continues.
In an interview with The Guardian admitted Ibrahimovic later that the action against Azpilicueta was a form of revenge.
– I did it on purpose. I’m not ashamed to say that. He did something stupid to my teammate. Played tough against him, said the Swede and continued:
– It was stupid, but I did it to make him understand. “You do not do that damn thing. You do not have enough stake to do it against me again. Then I will show what happens ”.
Janne Andersson himself has a yellow card since before in the World Cup qualifiers and in addition to the national team captain, Ludwig Augustinsson, Kristoffer Olsson, Alexander Isak, Viktor Claesson, Victor Nilsson Lindelöf, Mattias Svanberg and Joakim Nilsson are also at risk of suspension in a possible playoff final against Poland or Russia. in the event of a new warning against the Czech Republic.
It certainly is, though not that previous yellow cards accompany the playoff game. For Aftonbladet Håkan Sjöstrand, Secretary General of the Swedish Football Association, confirms that all the other eleven nations participating in the playoffs have been included in the proposal that all yellow cards from the World Cup qualifier played should be deleted.
However, this would not mean that the suspensions on Ibrahimovic and Krafth will not take place.
– Now Uefa will move on to Fifa, which will make a decision. We hope they can accommodate it as we agree. Nothing is clear until it is clear. But this was an important step on the road, Sjöstrand told the newspaper.
Even before the final World Cup qualifiers against Georgia and Spain so Janne Andersson expressed her frustration over the fact that yellow cards would follow in a possible playoff decision – but now he hopes that everyone will be reset.
– The signals are a little more positive – and the whole thing is strange. We may not be the most affected but someone said that 110 players can be suspended when coming from different competitions into this. It feels really weird. I hope they correct this, because it must have been a mistake from the beginning that they did not realize that it could be this way, says Janne Andersson.
Sweden meets the Czech Republic in the playoff semifinals at home at Friends arena on March 24. Victory there and Poland or Russia are waiting away on March 29 in a decisive match to play in the World Cup next year.
Read more:
Done: Sweden avoids Portugal and Italy in the World Cup playoffs
Zlatan on the attack on Spain: “Would do it again”
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