A tough group: Group A Netherlands France Sweden Bulgaria Belarus Luxembourg 06 SEP 2016 - 20:45 Local time Friends Arena - Solna SWEDEN - NETHERLANDS 07 OCT 2016 - 20:45 Local time LUXEMBOURG - SWEDEN 10 OCT 2016 - 20:45 Local time SWEDEN - BULGARIA 11 NOV 2016 - 20:45 Local time FRANCE - SWEDEN 25 MAR 2017 - 18:00 Local time SWEDEN - BELARUS 09 JUN 2017 - 20:45 Local time SWEDEN - FRANCE 31 AUG 2017 - 20:45 Local time BULGARIA - SWEDEN
According to wiki: The following 24 players have been called up for the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Netherlands on 6 September 2016.[12] Caps and goals updated as of 22 June 2016 after the match against Belgium. # Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club GK Robin Olsen 8 January 1990 (age 26) 4 0 Copenhagen GK Karl-Johan Johnsson 28 January 1990 (age 26) 3 0 Guingamp GK Patrik Carlgren 8 January 1992 (age 24) 1 0 AIK DF Andreas Granqvist (captain) 16 April 1985 (age 31) 55 3 Krasnodar DF Mikael Lustig 13 December 1986 (age 29) 53 3 Celtic DF Oscar Wendt 24 October 1985 (age 30) 25 0 Borussia Mönchengladbach DF Pontus Jansson 13 February 1991 (age 25) 8 0 Leeds United DF Victor Lindelöf 17 July 1994 (age 22) 6 0 Benfica DF Ludwig Augustinsson 21 April 1994 (age 22) 4 0 Copenhagen DF Emil Krafth 2 August 1994 (age 22) 4 0 Bologna DF Filip Helander 22 April 1993 (age 23) 0 0 Hellas Verona MF Jimmy Durmaz 22 March 1989 (age 27) 34 2 Toulouse MF Emil Forsberg 23 October 1991 (age 24) 20 2 RB Leipzig MF Oscar Lewicki 14 July 1992 (age 24) 12 0 Malmö FF MF Oscar Hiljemark 28 June 1992 (age 24) 10 1 Palermo MF Viktor Claesson 2 January 1992 (age 24) 6 1 IF Elfsborg MF Marcus Rohdén 11 May 1991 (age 25) 6 1 Crotone MF Niklas Hult 13 February 1990 (age 26) 4 0 Panathinaikos MF Alexander Fransson 2 April 1994 (age 22) 2 0 Basel FW Marcus Berg 17 August 1986 (age 30) 41 10 Panathinaikos FW John Guidetti 15 April 1992 (age 24) 12 1 Celta Vigo FW Isaac Kiese Thelin 24 June 1992 (age 24) 8 0 Bordeaux FW Emir Kujović 22 June 1988 (age 28) 4 1 Gent FW Christoffer Nyman 5 October 1992 (age 23) 4 0 Eintracht Braunschweig
Group A RESULTS: Sweden 1-1 Netherlands Bulgaria 4-3 Luxembourg Belarus 0-0 France Group A Teams P W D L F A +/- Pts 1 Bulgaria 1 1 0 0 4 3 1 3 2 Sweden 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 2 Netherlands 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 4 France 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 4 Belarus 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 6 Luxembourg 1 0 0 1 3 4 -1 0
The draw with Netherlands was followed up with a 1-0 away win against Luxembourg and a 3-0 win at home vs Bulgaria leaving Sweden tied at the top of group A with France after three games. The new look Sweden with Jan Andersson at the helm and without Zlatan Ibrahimovic had a unimpressive first game in the qualification and was lucky to hold on for a draw vs Netherlands. The 1-0 win against lowly Luxembourg did nothing to change the perception of a team looking for direction but the performance in the win against Bulgaria got a lot of praise, granted Bulgaria is a team in freefall with atrocious defending but Sweden could easily have doubled the 3-0 score line. Sweden will have to work harder to score without Zlatan leading the forward line but at the same time it is a opportunity for Andersson to rebuild the team with the young players from the u21 champion team as the core. Maybe the most encouraging sign is that Sweden after searching in vain for more then a decade at last seam to have a solid centreback pairing in Andreas Granqvist and Victor Nilsson-Lindelöf.
Agreed. I would especially highlight your Sweden U21 comment: talented young players who have tasted victory at a high level is always good to have on your side--particularly when qualifying in a crowded Europe. Also, I hope the LUX 1-0 win won't come back and bite Sweden in the end. This was an opportunity to add to the +/- column, which may be a deciding factor vs France and the Netherlands.
France has the early lead with wins over Netherlands and Sweden. Netherlands with a slight advantage for second with a draw in Sweden. A good showing by Bulgaria in March would be appreciated! Group A RESULTS: Luxembourg 0-1 Sweden Netherlands 4-1 Belarus France 4-1 Bulgaria Sweden 3-0 Bulgaria Belarus 1-1 Luxembourg Netherlands 0-1 France France 2-1 Sweden Bulgaria 1-0 Belarus Luxembourg 1-3 Netherlands Group A Teams P W D L F A +/- Pts 1 France 4 3 1 0 7 2 5 10 2 Netherlands 4 2 1 1 8 4 4 7 3 Sweden 4 2 1 1 6 3 3 7 4 Bulgaria 4 2 0 2 6 10 -4 6 5 Belarus 4 0 2 2 2 6 -4 2 6 Luxembourg 4 0 1 3 5 9 -4 1 25 March Matches Sweden - Belarus Luxembourg - France Bulgaria - Netherlands
The Dutch NT is in the very same transition as Sweden, where the old experienced players now have quit the NT ... they only finished 4th in the Euro-16 qualifiers behind the Czech Rep, Iceland and Turkey ... which could hardly be said to be among the toughest groups .... and unlike Sweden, the Dutch have not managed to qualify for the U21 Euro finals neither this year or in 2015 when Sweden won the tournament ... So at the moment Sweden should be in a better position than the Dutch, though it usually would have been the other way around ... but this Dutch NT is ... if not at an all-time low ...surely the weakest we have seen in more than 30 years, back when they did not manage to qualify for the WC and Euro finals in 1982, 1984 and 1986 ...
France, Sweden, and Bulgaria with good wins. The good showing by Bulgaria in March was appreciated! Group A - 25 March RESULTS: Luxembourg 1-3 France Sweden 4-0 Belarus Bulgaria 2-0 Netherlands Group A Teams P W D L F A +/- Pts 1 France 5 4 1 0 10 3 7 13 2 Sweden 5 3 1 1 10 3 7 7 3 Bulgaria 5 3 0 2 8 10 -2 9 4 Netherlands 5 2 1 2 8 6 2 7 5 Belarus 5 0 2 3 2 10 -8 2 6 Luxembourg 5 0 1 4 6 12 -6 1 9 June Matches Sweden - France Belarus - Bulgaria Netherlands - Luxembourg
Sweden with a great (lucky) win over France. Group A - 9 June RESULTS: Sweden 2-1 France Belarus 2-1 Bulgaria Netherlands 5-0 Luxembourg Group A Teams P W D L F A +/- Pts 1 Sweden 6 4 1 1 12 4 8 13 2 France 6 4 1 1 11 5 6 13 3 Netherlands 6 3 1 2 13 6 7 10 4 Bulgaria 6 4 0 2 9 12 -3 9 5 Belarus 6 1 2 3 4 11 -7 5 6 Luxembourg 6 0 1 5 6 17 -11 1 31 August Matches Bulgaria - Sweden France - Netherlands Belarus - Luxembourg[ 3 September Matches Belarus - Sweden France - Luxembourg[ Netherlands - Bulgaria
Swedens next games are: Bulgaria (A) Belarus (A) Luxembourg (H) Netherlands (A) After the win against France, Sweden now have a realistic chance of winning the group. But for that to happen six points in the next two difficult away games are crucial. In the end I think France will end up on top and the last game vs Netherlands are going to be a decider who will finish second and get in to the playoffs.
A tough loss for Sverige in Bulgaria. THey came back twice, but couldn't a third time. France took over the top spot, and Bulgaria moved past the Netherlands into 3rd. Group A - 31 augusti RESULTS: Bulgaria 3-2 Sweden France 4-0 Netherlands Luxembourg 1-0 Belarus Group A Teams P W D L F A +/- Pts 1 France 7 5 1 1 16 5 10 16 2 Sweden 7 4 1 2 14 7 7 13 3 Bulgaria 7 5 0 2 12 14 -2 12 4 Netherlands 7 3 1 3 13 10 3 10 5 Belarus 7 1 2 4 4 12 -8 5 6 Luxembourg 7 1 1 5 7 17 -10 4 3 September Matches Belarus - Sweden France - Luxembourg[ Netherlands - Bulgaria
Disastrous performance from Sweden against a poor Bulgarian team. A draw would have more or less have secured second place in the group. Now it seams unavoidable that Sweden needs to go to Netherlands in the last game and get a result.
Sweden gains back lost ground by winning at Belarus to come within a point of France who couldn't score at home to Luxembourg. Netherlands kept pace beating Bulgaria. Borisov Arena Borisov (BLR) 3 Sep 2017-19:00Local time FULL-TIME 0-4 Emil FORSBERG 18' Christoffer NYMAN 24' Marcus BERG 37' Andreas GRANQVIST 84' PEN 3 September RESULTS: Belarus 0-4 Sweden France 0-0 Luxembourg Netherlands 3-1 Bulgaria Group A Teams P W D L F A +/- Pts 1 France 8 5 2 1 16 5 10 17 2 Sweden 8 5 1 2 18 7 11 16 3 Netherlands 8 4 1 3 16 11 5 13 4 Bulgaria 8 5 0 3 13 17 -4 12 5 Luxembourg 8 1 2 5 7 17 -10 5 6 Belarus 8 1 2 5 4 16 -12 5 October 7 Matches Sweden - Luxembourg Belarus - Netherlands - Bulgaria - France October 10 Matches Netherlands - Sweden France - Belarus Luxembourg -Bulgaria
My best eleven: Olsen Larsson - Lindelöf - Granqvist - Mehmeti Durmaz - Guidetti - J.Johansson Goitom - Berg - Forsberg
After the 8-0 trashing of Luxembourg Sweden have secured second place in the group and a place in the play offs (I don't consider losing 0-7 to the Netherlands a possibility). When considering the group Sweden was drawn in to and that Jan Andersson had to start a rebuilding process with many new players, this is a really good result. But the dropped point late in the away game against Bulgaria hurts, not only did it deprive Sweden of a good chance to win the group and automatic qualification, it also meant that Sweden missed out on being seeded in the play off.
Sweden are going to be among the unseeded in the play-off's .. so the possible opponents are going to be Italy, Switzerland, Denmark or Croatia ... according to the Swedish experts and players, they would like to face either Switzerland or Croatia ... and they belive that worst possible draw would be Denmark ...
They would not be happy to face Italy either ... they wanted Switzerland or Croatia ... but Italy it is ...
The Danish FA have called the Swedish FA and cancelled the womens WC qualifying match with Sweden this Friday. saying they are not able to field a team due to an unsolved conflict between the Danish FA and the Danish players union, where they have not been able to come to an agreement. In the end, it's UEFA who has the final word. Deadline is noon tomorrow when team squads have to be submitted. ... but the Danish women are on the other hand still training for the match and seem keen on playing ... so this is quite a mess ... what is the Danish FA going to do if the women actually show up for the match ? ... and how will FIFA then punish the Danish FA, if they deliberately keep the women from playing a WC qualifying match ? ... According to German media, it could end up with a FIFA exclusion of all Danish NT's for up to 6 month as punishment ... including the Denmark v Ireland play-off games ..
The Danish women NT won Silver this summer at the Euro Finals, but are now on the brink on total knock-out, not only missing the WC finals but also the next Olympics and perhaps also the next Euro finals if the Danish FA and the Danish players union are not able to come to some sort of an agreement today before 12 o'clock ... and really ...they have now been negotiating since the Euro finals, so we are now actually talking about small-change that keep them from an agreement, so this is more than childish, silly and embarrassing, if they do not face Sweden in the WC qualifiers ... I'll leave it at posting the music video made for the Euro finals, written and performed by Danish stand-up comedian Molly Thornhill in cooperation with the Danish women NT players..