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Sam Hallam’s World Cup surge collapsed in the second half against the Czech Republic, as the Czechs went from 0-1 down to 3-1 in less than seven minutes to decide the game.
And I sit and think about the most important decision Sam Hallam made before the toilet.
Which guards should he choose?
It is the single most important, and at the same time, the most difficult question that the captain of the national team must address before the World Cup.
At the moment, the answer does not seem clear.
The history of the Swedish national team is otherwise full of old goalkeeper champions and there was a time when there was one year after year.
First Leif “Honken” Holmqvist, later Pekka Lindmark and finally Tommy Salo.
There was no discussion of whether they were available and healthy.
Today there are a huge number to choose from.
I think fifteen, twenty Swedish goalkeepers are big enough to stand on a toilet, but who has the best everyday form and ability to grow with the task?
This question doesn’t really have an answer, but it’s still a mystery for Sam Hallam and his staff to solve.
There is a streak of shame
If Linus Ollmark escapes, that’s no problem.
Ollmark has been the best goaltender in the NHL this winter and is so superior that he has no competition for the Vezina Trophy – the award for best goaltender in the NHL that only Billy Lindbergh and Henrik Lundqvist have won before. I don’t know what the situation is, but the more time passes, the worse the odds are.
Ollmark came to the WC in Tampere last year, but it wasn’t enough as the Swedes had already fallen in the quarter-finals to Canada.
This is where the limit of infamy applies to a nation like Sweden, and during Johan Garbinlöf’s time as captain of the national team, the Swedes never reached it again.
It has been five years since Tre Kronor last played a World Cup quarter-final and that was at the 2018 World Cup in Copenhagen when Sweden went all out to claim their second consecutive World Cup gold.
in target?
Anders Nilsson.
He became the great goalkeeping champion back then, but I doubt many people remember that.
Or WC gone before, the one at The Globe in 2013, when Jonas Enroth nailed it again.
Both times, management made the right goalkeeping choice and found a winner.
Not less than standing longer
Or take Finland.
WC gold 2019 with Kevin Lankinen as the new national champion in the box.
Olympic gold medal 2022 with Hari Satre as a live wall.
Then WC went a few months later with a brand new champion – Jussi Okinuora.
Finland has already achieved 100% return in goalkeeper selections, but they are also showing just how big the selection is these days.
Goalkeeping has exploded in the 21st century with entirely new types of goalkeepers and a new style of coverage where size matters more than ever.
Today, there are basketball standards for many goalkeepers and not least the team player who had to stand up.
As it was in the time of Billy Lindbergh.
Seven black minutes ruined everything
Now Sam Hallam has three goalkeepers in the Czech Hockey Games and Lassi Johansson opened by keeping a clean sheet against Switzerland in the first game in Gothenburg (2-0).
And tomorrow, Sunday, Jesper Wallstedt will play his last match against Finland.
This afternoon against the Czech Republic, Linköping’s Markus Hojbjerg was in the penalty area, who was forced to concede four pucks.
He had no chance at all except the fourth, which slipped between his legs.
Högberg also played the most at Tre Kronor this winter and played a huge part in the Swedes winning the previous three Euro Hockey Tour championships.
Now may come the first defeat, as the Czechs need to beat Switzerland full-time in Sunday’s final to win at home.
In this case, it would be Sam Hallam’s first setback since he took over as captain of the national team.
Now it was the seven black minutes of the second half that ruined everything, as the Czechs scored three goals in a row and managed to dominate and not give up.
An early 4-1 at the start of the third made the climb steeper.
The Swedes still matched it in the final period, when Alexander Nylander reduced the numerical advantage and bombed Lucas Raymond at 4-3 with 2.20 left.
But the Czechs held on and won after all.
Now there is only one match left before it is time for Sam Hallam to sit down and reflect on his first World Cup squad.
And above all, “correct” goalkeepers.
