Last night I was back at Friends Arena to cover the World Cup qualifier between Sweden and Belarus. A game where Belarus was easily disposed of by Sweden in a thrilling 4-0 victory.
This was now the third Sweden game I’ve covered since Zlatan Ibrahimovic retired and since coach Erik Hamrén was replaced by Jan Andersson. I continue to be impressed by the work Jan Andersson is doing. The team is organized and has an identity and style of play. I’m really looking forward to seeing them play some tougher competition to see how they hold up. So bring on the game against at France at Friends Arena in June.
I was also very impressed with Emil Forsberg last night. I knew going in that he’s been having a great season in Germany with RB Leipzig but he was really impressive last night. Wearing the number 10 shirt vacated by Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Forsberg was involved in 3 of Sweden’s four goals. He opened the scoring from penalty spot after Marcus Berg was dragged down in the box. Belarus keeper Andrei Gorbunov then gifted him his second when Forsberg’s shot slipped through his legs and rolled over the line. Sweden’s third goal, a header by Marcus Berg, was also born from attack down the flank led by Forsberg.
Also have to mention that the atmosphere was much better last night than in the previous match against Bulgaria. Seems like SvFF has adjusted ticket pricing accordingly, so good on them. No one wants to watch a match in a half empty arena.
Next weekend the Allsvenskan season kick’s off. I’ll be covering AIK’s premiere match against BK Häcken on Sunday and then Djurgårdens premiere on Monday.
Game on!
