Sheffield. This team wanted to make Bramal Lane their solution, knocking the host country and absorbing the silence.
At the moment, not even Peter Gerhardson can hear his thoughts, only “Football’s homecoming”.
Sweden started strong, Sweden ended humiliated.
Let’s say as a spectator you fell asleep during the first half hour on Bramall Lane (how it is now with more than 28,000 people in the stands).
Then open your eyes and follow the rest of the action that was taking place on the grass on this cold July evening.
The conclusion that can possibly be drawn is that Sweden is no better than England.
The Swedish players’ aggregate material is not technically skilled and cannot play football at a high pace.
Sweden smashed a confused defense line, VAR margins on the wrong side, a humiliating Alicia Russo heel and a clever tackle from Hedvig Lindahl.
Sweden entered this tournament as one of the top favorites. With the idea that 2022 is the year the fruit will be harvested on a tree that has been growing since 2017.
From the 34th minute onwards, everything rotted.
amazing formation
During the 2019 World Cup, a shock occurred in the entire press room in Le Havre when Gerhardsson decided to replace half of the starting lineup in the meeting with the USA (when the promotion has already been secured, it must be added).
The line-up released 90 minutes before kick-off at Bramall Lane probably didn’t cause as much shock as it did at the time. But a sense of surprise.
Hanna Glass on the left? Amanda Illestitt at right-back, head-to-head with the happy Lauren Hemp dribbling?
Rarely has impatience creeped worse into the body. What did Peter Gerhardsson and Magnus Wakeman really cook here?
The answer was a four-line defense and 11 players hungry for fairness.
That was particularly evident on Nathalie Björn seconds before the referee blasted the match into the crowded arena. As if Seger’s replacement was a hundred-meter runner, ready to break out of the starting blocks.
Sweden attacked, England retreated in surprise.
Then they revealed themselves
Up, up, up, center back Major General Magdalena Eriksson waved every time the Swedish line of defense went low.
Hedvig Lindahl seemed to think the ball was a fireball as fast as the goalkeeper alerted it away.
The match, out of curiosity, was played against the opponent’s right wing. There was Lucy Bronze, considered by some to be one of the best in the world in her position.
The fact is that bronze can shrink under extreme pressure. Not least when the powerful Fridolina Rulfo, now a teammate at Barcelona, steps in and gets nervous.
So far, Gerhardsson’s tactics have worked. Sofia Jacobson, who had not played a minute in the championship before today, represented Sweden’s best chance already in the first minute when she moved to the right wing and tested goalkeeper Marie Erbs.
And then what should never have happened against England – the formation itself revealed.
The goal aroused an unpleasant feeling
A pass was passed to the bronze only on the right wing, who joined the attack once. Hanna Glass followed the ball with her eyes instead of Beth Meade and Magdalena Erickson didn’t know if she would dare step forward and thus leave Ellen White.
A few seconds of disorientation in communication in defense was enough for England. Meade shook, somewhat undeservedly, in 1-0 for the host nation.
The goal caused something, and it was not in favor of Sweden. What seemed stable for 34 minutes has become increasingly fragile.
That Lucy Bronze nodded her head in extension with pure sarcasm.
No one was as angry and angry as the right-back after losing the World Cup half match and the bronze medal in France 2019.
Nobody seemed to be floating in the clouds anymore when the score was 2-0 and the real control of last place at home was real.
Is this the end?
The painting in Bramall Lane is not pretty now. 4-0 is an embarrassing result, even against England who got the last piece of the puzzle in place thanks to Sarina Wegman.
Sweden’s unbeaten record (without penalties) finished in 34 matches under Peter Gerhardsson.
Who was on the sidelines the last time he fell? Sarina Wiegmann, then reprized the role of captain of the Netherlands national team.
I started thinking if this was the last time we saw Hedvig Lindahl in the national team, if she could stand up again.
If it’s Caroline Seeger, who was nearly phased out by Natalie Bjorn, thank her.
It’s a bittersweet ending, which was meant to be phrased quite differently. At the same time vigilance slap directly in the solar plexus.
“It’s coming home! He’s coming home!”
Well, the championship is already at home. England reached the final.
The rest of us go back to sleep.
