| Fear and judgement surrounded Sweden's Zlatan Ibrahimovic going into Monday's match against Ukraine. |
The blue and yellow sea that crowded Kiev Olympic Stadium was almost inseparable as Swedish and Ukrainian fans watched Ukraine win 2-1 in Group D of the 2012 UEFA Euro Cup.
Prior to kickoff, a buzz surrounded Swedish Striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, with much speculation as to how he would perform in this game and the tournament as a whole. His chance came early, with Sweden starting with possession, and Ibrahimovic getting involved with an early touch. Sweden performed well on the attack in the opening minutes. The first half progressed with a tight midfield game early in the first half, lots of balls out and intercepted passes, in addition to a rough, foul-heavy game by the Swedes. There was a hunger for goals, with the Ukrainians caught off-sides at 22’, followed immediately by a good chance on goal by Shevchenko, in addition to a Swedish off-sides at 20’.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->· There was a selfish advance from Ibrahimovic at 35’, he could have passed the ball away, and the resulting corner was easily intercepted by Ukrainian keeper Pyatov. His next attempt was a headed miss in the 38th minute which got my blood pumping. But that’s soccer for you, the ball can bounce anywhere, and will either be remembered as a goal or missed opportunity. Eventually, Ibrahimovic and the Swedes broke through. His goal in the 51st minute capitalized on Ukrainian errors by redirecting a good pass from Rosenberg.
| Andriy Shevchenko led Ukraine to their first-ever Euro Cup win over Sweden. |
The Swedes fouled regularly, conceding two yellow cards. Hallstrom’s yellow card came in the tenth minute as he went in for a sliding tackle and missed the ball, instead tripping-up the Ukrainian player. Good call for an unintentional but dangerous foul. Rasmus Elm’s foul in the 82nd minute, however, was blatant and dirty, and there should be little sympathy for him, despite his nationality: Yellow card earned.
| Olaf Mellberg, whose aggressive playing style, with 'whodunnit?' antics, as well as a wonderful beard, made this game incredibly entertaining. |
This match had its share of heroes; Andriy Shevchenko had a beautiful performance in leading his team to victory, scoring a brace of goals for co-hosts Ukraine. Zlatan Ibrahimovic silenced doubters by scoring the first goal of the match, and by creating chances for his teammates. The Ukrainian fans were excellent, from national anthem to final whistle: By far the most loyal and polite fans of the Euros. The Sweden back-four performed well, despite allowing two goals. For this all blame rests on the Swedish keeper, Andreas Isaksson, who seemed at best out of place and at worst completely lost on the pitch. Special mention to Olaf Mellberg, whose aggressive playing style, with 'whodunnit?' antics, as well as a wonderful beard, made this game incredibly entertaining. Other than Isaksson, the only villain in this match was the dreaded 'dive-bomber'. Particularly during the first half, it seemed that a light wind would all but topple the Ukrainian starting eleven, in a dramatic piece which should be reserved for the Kiev Theater.
The major international competition prior to this year’s Euro Cup was the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, in which the English and French were eliminated in the Round of Sixteen and the Group Stage, respectively. Sweden and Ukraine did not qualify.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->· <!--[endif]-->Ukraine’s post-Soviet debut occurred in 1992, Sweden has been playing since 1908. This is the first Euro Cup in which Ukraine have qualified.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->·
<!--[endif]-->In other Group D news, England drew France 1-1, each receiving a single point in the Group Table.
No comments:
Post a Comment