Poland crushed Sweden and Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s dream of the World Cup. The number one pilot in Poland gave a rude assessment of the way the Swedes played. The second pair was secured by Portugal, whose long value tube was extended.
Micke Suopuro,
STT Sports
30.3. 08: 00 • Updated March 30 8:01
The finals of the European Football World Cup qualifiers ended in victories for Poland and Portugal. Sweden and Northern Macedonia, which lost in the matches, were left without a World Cup place.
Poland scored 2-0 in Sweden in the B-path match. The first goal was scored by the captain of the Polish team Robert Lewandowski. Last year, the British newspaper Guardian voted Lewandowski the best men’s football player in the world.
The Swedish defense still leaked in front of the Polish skipper, but the goalkeeper Robin Olsen managed to snatch Lewandowski’s chances for a second goal.
Poland’s second goal was played by a player in the ranks of Naples in Serie A. Piotr Zielinski. Polish Juventus guard Wojciech Szczesny also played a significant role in the victory of his team.
Head coach of Poland Czeslaw Michniewicz comments that the match has been settled in Poland’s preparations.
– If the Swedish national team comes under pressure, they will always play the same way, ie a long ball. The attackers stay close to the goal and try to win the second balls, the head coach continued.
Zlatan: “I will continue as long as I can”
The size of Swedish football Zlatan Ibrahimovic returned in the fall to his national team shirt. The goal of the 40-year-old superstar was to help Sweden at the World Cup.
The wish remained a dream. Ibrahimovic is still not ready to pack.
Ibrahimovic came on to replace him at the end of the second half. Ibrahimovic didn’t want to think about a possible 2024 European Championships yet.
– Those games still seem too far away to think, if I even play football at all then. I want to play for as long as I can. I don’t want (after a career) to joke that I could still go on.
The long Portuguese pipe was extended
The match between Portugal and northern Macedonia also ended 2-0.
Portugal scored from both goals in a match played in Porto Bruno Fernandesled by Manchester United in the Premier League.
Portugal’s long value tube thus continued. The country was last excluded from the 1998 World Cup or European Championships in France.
Although Northern Macedonia managed to take a surprise win from Italy last week, the team’s dream of the first World Cup did not materialize.