PHOTO: Bildbyrån
It is one of the greatest efforts on a football field of all time.
When Glenn Hysén stopped England and was rewarded with six wasps.
The protagonist now reveals the truth about the feat match.
Today it is described as “Hysén class” to get a grade of six on a five-point scale. It is an exclusive crowd of people who have managed to get six wasps over the years in the shape of Thomas Brolin, Tommy Salo and Bruce Springsteen – but first of all was Glenn Hysen.
The match of a lifetime
On October 19, 1988, Sweden played a World Cup qualifier against England at historic Wembley. The English were heavy favorites and would make short work of the process at home in front of 65,000 passionate supporters in the stands.
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England also dominated greatly and Sweden only managed a single shot on goal, a long shot from Roger Ljung. But regardless of how good the English were, there was a Swede who scored the match of his life on this day.
Hysén excelled
Center back Hysén stopped EVERYTHING time and again with his well-balanced sliding tackles and silenced all the Brits on the spot with a real feat. After 90 heroic minutes, the match ended 0-0 at Wembley and Glenn was clean at the back.
– They were totally superior, but Ravelli was very good and I made a few breaks, says a humble Hysén to Expressen many years later.
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But it could have gone so much differently that day in 1988. The Swedish centre-back icon is now telling the truth about the feat.
– Had the referee been slightly wrong, I could have had two penalties against me. Then I would have been declared an idiot. But there were two completely correct breaks, says Hysén in the 2016 interview.
READ MORE: Glenn Hysén reveals the best player he has met – and pays tribute to the icon: “Damn, fantastic”
Six wasps
When the newspaper Expressen was then going to give a player rating for the Swedes’ effort, the 1 to 5 scale was enough to ring in Glenn Hysén’s masterful effort. Without Hysén, you get “six glinting wasps” with the justification: “Better than world class – then the wasps aren’t enough for you, Glenn”.
To this day, he is often reminded of that very match against England that made him historic as the first to receive a sixth in player rating.
– Oh, damn it. Not daily but every time there is some kind of football meeting. It always comes up and is something you’re damn proud of, he says to the evening newspaper.
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