PHOTO: Bildbyrån
0–2 after six minutes led to 0–3 away to Azerbaijan.
Emil Forsberg’s assessment of the national team’s performance in Baku?
– It’s a shame, says the midfielder after the EC qualifying loss.
It went away at the Tofiq Bahramov Stadium in Baku. And it was the home team Azerbaijan that set the pace.
1–0 off Emin Mahmudov after three minutes.
2–0 off Renat Dadashov after six minutes.
Tough and difficult start for Sweden, who are already out of the European Championship play-offs in Germany next summer.
Blue-yellow shock loss
However, it would be worse for Blågult. In the 89th minute, Mahmudov made it 3-0 to Azerbaijan from long range.
– We make a mess of ourselves and after that I don’t think we radiate dominance or confidence that we want to win the match. It’s too awkward. Then you don’t win, says the Swedish midfielder Emil Forsberg to Viaplay.
– I think we should be able to do better than what we are doing. We are not dominant, do not find solutions, are too one-sided.
The article continues below.
The 32-year-old’s grade on the effort in Baku?
– It’s a shame pillow.
Team captain Victor Nilsson Lindelöfwho was involved in Azerbaijan’s lead goal, on the start:
– We said before that we would be involved from the start. Then I did that… It was absolutely not a good start. It was my fault, he says.
“It’s not enough”
Forsberg says that the atmosphere in the squad has been good during the meeting – despite the national team’s result – but quickly points out that it matters less after 0-3.
– We have to look in the mirror and ask if this was good enough and then quite quickly get an answer that it wasn’t, he says.
Sweden finishes the EC qualifiers on Sunday, at home at Friends Arena against Estonia. A match that also adds up Janne Andersson’s time as national team captain.
– We have one game left this year. Then we can hopefully recharge our batteries and in the next collection try to find a set to perform at a better level, get results. It is clear that this is not enough, it is not good enough, says Nilsson Lindelöf.
What do you think of Sweden’s effort? Share the article and have your say!
Share