Romania 0-2 Sweden
The colourful Scandinavians of Sweden will be at next summer’s Euro 2020 soccer spectacle.
Yes, their joy was slightly tempered by an incident in the closing stages which led to the Euro 2020 news story of the night.
But Janne Andersson’s men prevailed in Bucharest to take their place in the 16thEuropean Championships next summer.
They will certainly hope to fare better than last time when they finished bottom of their group, albeit a tough one comprising Italy, Belgium, and the Republic of Ireland.
They will also now hope to at least equal their achievement in last summer’s World Cup when they reached the quarter-finals before bowing out to a rejuvenated England.
Highlights of the game
Romania had gone into the match with hopes of their own progress very much alive, but the atmosphere was pretty tense after two gestures that had angered the hosts.
Last Monday, the Swedish Football Federation presented the team with equipment for Euro 2020 – considered somewhat overconfident given they had not qualified at that point.
Romania’s manager, Cosmin Contra, said he felt offended by this and showed the Swedes were disregarding their opponents.
The Swedish squad then added fuel to the fire with a series of comments about possible racist incidents during the match against Romania.
Indeed, some Swedish players said their team should leave the pitch in case of racist chanting.
As it transpired, those comments proved to be justified.
The stakes were certainly high in front of a passionate crowd at the Arena Nationala with little to choose between the two nations, who were separated by one point before kick-off.
Yet perhaps that pressure of expectation got to Romania as they fell behind inside 18 minutes.
The Swedes took an early lead as Krasnodar striker Marcus Berg opened the scoring. He headed in an inviting cross from Emil Forsberg as Sweden surged ahead.
Berg then turned provider as he cushioned the ball off for Robin Quaison, who plies his trade with Mainz in the Bundesliga, to double the lead ahead of the break.
Both are having decent starts to the club season.
The veteran Berg has scored five times for Krasnodar, while the 26-year-old Quaison has scored four times for Mainz so far this term.
By now, Sweden were well on their way to reaching a sixth successive European Championship. They came close to scoring a third in the second half when Albin Ekdal crashed a shot from inside the penalty area against the crossbar.
After conceding twice during an initially even contest, Romania were crestfallen and started to leave gaps at the back. Sweden saw the contest out fairly comfortably to impose a rare home defeat on their hosts.
The talking point arrived in the closing stages when the Euro 2020 qualifying tie unfortunately had to be temporarily stopped after striker Alexander Isak was subjected to racist abuse.
The 20-year-old Real Sociedad frontman received abuse after emerging as a 78th-minute substitute, although the player agreed to continue following a stadium announcement – the first stage of Uefa’s three-step protocol.
Undaunted by the taunting from the stands, Isak continued to seek possession and had the ball at his feet as the final whistle went to confirm Sweden’s qualification.
He led the celebrations in front of the visiting supporters after the three points had been secured.
Last laugh and job done. Sweden will be at Euro 2020.
Key statistics
This was only the fifth international clash between the nations.
Romania beat them home and away during the qualifying campaign for Euro 1984, but their most notable meeting was in the World Cup quarter-final in 1994.
The Gheorghe Hagi-inspired east Europeans had played some beautiful football then and also knocked out Argentina en route.
However, after an entertaining 2-2 draw, Sweden won in the penalty shoot-out that followed.
Berg, who was on target when Sweden played out a 1-1 draw with Spain, now has 21 international goals.
What’s next?
Sweden qualify as Group F runners-up behind Spain and will host the Faroe Islands in their final qualifying fixture at the Friends Arena on Monday.
Romania complete their group matches with a trip to Spain. They must defy the SBOBET Euro 2020 betting odds if they are to leave Madrid with a win.
Romania also still have a chance to get to Euro 2020 via the play-offs.
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