Bolstered by the 5-0 victory against Estonia on Saturday, the Swedish national team had their sights set on further points in the important match against Austria on Saturday evening.
Many Swedish supporters had made their way to the Friends arena in the capital to see the match, which in the first half was a lively event.
Strikers Viktor Gyökeres and Alexander Isak were two of the Swedish players who created dangerous situations, but the ball did not want to find its way into Austria’s goal.
The hope of a Swedish victory disappeared just over ten minutes into the second half. In the space of four minutes Michael Gregoritsch had headed in 0–1 and Marko Arnautovic sent in 0–2 with the help of mistakes from the Swedish back line.
The dream of the EC blown away
And heavier it would be.
With 20 minutes of regular time remaining, Isak Hien caused a penalty, which the opposition managed to the best of their abilities by allowing Arnautovic to score 0–3.
Sweden did not manage to recover from the collapse at all and despite substitute Emil Holm polishing the numbers in the final stages of the match, Sweden lost the match.
The loss now means that a Swedish participation in next year’s EC play-offs is a long way off. Belgium, Azerbaijan and Estonia are the opposition in the three remaining qualifying matches, which will be played later this autumn.