Emil Krafth did what he could to avoid Morten Thorsby when the Norwegian broke into the penalty area.
Thorsby fell, the English referee Anthony Taylor hesitated, but then blew and pointed to the point. Erling Braut Haaland struck a 30 meter free kick home 18 minutes into the match.
Meanwhile, Krafth received his second warning in the Nations League, was suspended and missed the match against Serbia a few days later. Norway won the match 2-1 after another goal by Haaland.
“Falls easily”
Now Krafth is back and will most likely enter as a right-back in Sunday night’s return meeting at Ullevål in Oslo.
When Krafth spoke to Swedish media on Saturday night, he was asked what he should say to Thorsby.
– Uh, I do not know. Maybe he should not lie down so easily. I have heard that he fell very easily. I know that there are small margins, but I think that you should somehow try to run “fair play” and stand up if you can.
– There may be those who do not share that view and he may be one of them.
Revenge suction
Krafth believes that the loss of Friends provides extra lighter fluid.
– It is clear that we are hungry for revenge. Losing football matches is never fun.
A victory is also a must if the national team is to be in the fight for the group victory when it draws together to the last two matches in September, against Serbia and Slovenia.
– If we win, we will be part of the journey again. If they win, they deduct. We must be more on our toes from the beginning than against Norway at home and be more clinical when we get the chances.