Sweden vs. Netherlands: Score, Reaction from World Cup 2018 Qualifier
Sweden and the Netherlands shared the points in Group A of European qualification for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, drawing 1-1 at the Friends Arena in Solna, Sweden, on Tuesday.
A goal from prolific Panathinaikos striker Marcus Berg gave Sweden a half-time lead after a stunning chip to register the first goal of the night, but Dutch veteran Wesley Sneijder grabbed the equaliser in a match his side should have won.
Bas Dost thought he had won the points for the Netherlands with the last kick of the game, but he was penalised for a foul as he witnessed his goal be disallowed.
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Tottenham Hotspur striker Vincent Janssen led the line for the visitors, as Kevin Strootman patrolled the midfield for the Clockwork Orange.
Berg was given the job of leading the attack for the hosts as Sweden get used to life after the international retirement of the iconic Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
A bright start in Solna soon witnessed the teams settle down, as the Dutch attempted to get the ball down on the deck and dominate possession.
A devastating run and dribble from Emil Forsberg almost produced an opener for Sweden as the Netherlands vacated the midfield, but the visitors survived the scare.
There was little in the way of threat coming from Danny Blind's men early on, and the Swedes took advantage as they pushed forward.
They were rewarded with a goal two minutes before the half-time whistle, as Strootman made a catastrophic mistake on the edge of his own box.
The prized midfielder slipped on the ball as he attempted to steer away to safety, and Berg reacted quickest, beating goalkeeper Jeroen Zoet with a delicious chip.
Squawka.com highlighted the opening goal:
Sweden carried their advantage through half-time and reappeared in the second half motivated and buoyant as the Dutch contingent appeared bemused.
The game was flipped on its head shortly after the hour mark when Sneijder gave the Netherlands a precious equaliser after a sustained period of attack.
The ball rebounded to the midfielder just inside the area, and the Galatasaray player slotted his effort away with expertise and calmness.
Once again, Squawka called the action:
OptaJohan highlighted the significance of Sneijder's effort:
The Dutch appeared tired after fighting to be level, and the Swedes attempted to take advantage of their opponents' fatigue.
The Netherlands team looked leggy as they went about their business, but their attacking threat outweighed their efforts of the first half.
Sweden also suffered with the pace in the final 20 minutes as the visitors tried to take the sting out of the match.
However, the match swung back and forth in the final 10 minutes as both teams hunted a winner at the expense of their pragmatism.
The Netherlands threw everything at Sweden in the final moments and had several chances to steal a deserved win.
Sneijder and Strootman dominated as their team flooded the box, but it was too, little too late in Solna.
Dost believed he had won the game for the visitors in the final seconds, but his nudge on his marker was punished by the referee.
The Dutch were marginally the better of the two combatants but are a shadow of the former great sides of Netherlands football.
Sweden appeared to lack verve without Ibrahimovic, and they will struggle to replace the magic he brought to their outfit.
Post-Match Reaction
Blind was hugely disappointed after the game and blamed poor refereeing as a last-minute winner was disallowed.
The manager told Dutch outlet NOS (h/t FourFourTwo) after the contest: "The referee was in the way. I thought he officiated very well, but this is an incredible mistake by him. We really lost two points here."
The draw leaves the Netherlands and Sweden in second and third place, respectively, in Group A, level on points with Belarus and France.
