Euro 2012 News: Pontus Werbloom scores twice for Sweden to beat Hungary 2-0
The starting line up for Sweden was Andreas Isaksson (Goal Keeper), Mikael Lustig, Olof Mellberg, Daniel Majstorovic, Behrang Safari, Ola Toivonen, Anders Svensson, Zlatan Ibrahimović (Captain), Johan Elmander, Pontus Wernbloom, Emir Bajrami.
The starting lineup for Hungary was Gábor Király (Goal Keeper), Zoltán Lipták, Pál Lázár, Roland Juhász, Zsolt Laczkó, Krisztián Vadócz, Balázs Dzsudzsák, Gergely Rudolf, Vladimir Koman, Zoltán Gera (Captain), Ákos Elek.
The substitutes for Sweden were Johan Wiland (Goal Keeper), Sebastian Larsson, Kim Källström, Andreas Granqvist, Marcus Berg, Oscar Wendt, Christian Wilhelmsson.
The subsititues for Hungary were Márton Fülöp (Goal Keeper), Krisztián VermesSzabolcs Huszti, Tamás Hajnal, Zoltán Szélesi, Vilmos Vanczák, Tamás Priskin.
The referee of the match was Martin Atkinson.
Hungary started off aggressively and in the 2nd minute as Elek took a shot but missed his target by some distance.
Sweden countered and were able to take a penalty corner which Svensson delivered but no one was able to capitalize from it.
To counter the strong Hungarian play, Swedish players started to defend aggressively and soon enough in the 4th minute Bajrami gave away a free kick when he challenged Koman but again the chance to score was wasted.
Both teams after that started make a more pragmatic approach and passed the ball around. Proceedings in the 8th minute brought a goal nearly as Elmander produced a good effort but Kirlay in the end made the save.
In the 15th minute Sweden were able to acquire another penalty corner and Bajrami took it. The ball eventually travelled to Majstorovic who put it wide.
In the 17th minute Sweden were far too aggressive again as Elmander gave another free kick to Hungary. This time Z. Laczkó took it.
The Hungarians were belligerent in the same minute as Rudolf tackled unsuccessfully against Mellberg.
The game started to resemble more of an intense battle as the 18th minute saw another free kick, this time given by Elek when he challenged Wernbloom.
In the 19th minute there was a good try to score from the Swedish side as Toivonen attempted to draw first blood but Király was the saviour again.
The game intensified further after 20 minutes as Bajrami delivered a penalty corner. The plot was countered by Hungarians as Gera tried to score but the attempt was futile with his shot being wide in the 22nd minute.
The Swedes immediately responded in the 23rd minute but this time Dzsudzsák shot was wide.
In the 26th minute the Hungarian skipper Gera committed a foul on Svensson and gave away a free kick that the Swedish captain Ibrahimović took.
The Swedish play resulted in a penalty corner that was taken by Bajrami in the 27th minute but the deadlock prevailed.
Hungary seemed desperate for a goal as in the 28th minute Rudolf was flagged off side. That was followed by Vadócz chance to score in the 29th minute and just a minute later Rudolf was flagged off side again.
In the 32nd minute Bajrami was successful in taking the penalty corner but still no goal.
Sweden substituted Svensson for Källström in the 33rd minute and the game resumed.
Following that Dzsudzsák took a penalty corner in the 34th minute but the Hungarians failed in scoring again.
In the 35th minute Toivonen was warned for committing a foul against Lipták and the referee seemed frustrated at the lack of a smooth game.
There was a pretty game play made in the 39th minute which could have produced a winner but Ibrahimović was off target.
In the 40th minute Wernbloom challenged Rudolf poorly and a foul was given. In the proceedings Dzsudzsák fired a shot but it was blocked by an impregnable Swedish defence.
The frustrated Hungarians retreated but on the way Juhász fouled Toivonen and Källström took the free kick in the 44th minute.
In the 45th minute, the last chance to score came to Ibrahimović but he was off track yet again. End score 0-0.
The 2nd half started with these replacements. Isaksson went out for Wiland. Dzsudzsák came out for Huszti and Elmander was replaced by S. Larsson.
The game resumed and the Swedish style of play suggested that they had planned something in the break.
In the 51st minute Elek challenged Ibrahimović but that resulted in a free kick being awarded to Sweden.
Sweden broke the deadlock in the 51st minute as Wernbloom produced a stunner to score.
Hungary realized that they needed to make a comeback and started again with their typical aggressive game but to no avail.
The man who had scored, Wernbloom, gave away a free kick in the 54th minute when he unjustly tackled Juhász.
The possession of the ball was increasing in favour of the Swedes and though the Hungarians were trying hard their variations in the midfield were letting them down.
Eventually the Hungarians ended up commiting fouls and that is what happened in the 54th minute when Gera took it on Toivonen.
In the 56th minute Bajrami had a difficult chance to score, but in the end he was not up to the task. His attempt resulted in a counter and Ibrahimović had to foul to stop it.
After the free kick, the Hungarians developed a much more pragmatic approach and tried to build up a play but Koman lost it in the end.
In the 59th minute Källström was marking a man but when he got the ball he was in a good position to bring it on from the midfield and score but in the end he was unsuccesfull.
The 59th minute saw another substitution as Elek got replaced by Priskin. Ibrahimović tried to take advantage of the commotion but was marked offside.
An hour past and the Swedes were dominating after making a superb comeback in the 2nd half. Huszti gave away a free kick in panic when he challenged Wernbloom.
Just 1 minute after that Huszti gave away another free kick, this time when he tackled Lustig. In response Sweden looked good in trying to score but in the end they got a penalty corner that Källström took.
The game became rougher after the 65th minute as Priskin fouled Majstorovic followed by S. Larsson fouling Vadócz. In the same minute Lipták failed in tackling Toivonen and he was given at last the first yellow card of the match.
The 67th minute free kick is taken by Ibrahimović who fires it up between the posts but it results in futility as Király makes the save. This was followed by Safari being flagged offside in the 69th minute followed by Wernbloom charging Rudolf.
In the 71st minute Mellberg challenged Priskin and a foul was given, the game continued with Sweden gaining a penalty corner. Källström took it in the 73rd minute and Wernbloom scored making it his 2nd goal of the match.
Toivonen was also shown a yellow card in the 75th minute when he violently tried to take the ball from Vadócz.
In the 77th minute Källström took a penalty corner with Lustig attempting to score but missed. That was followed by S. Larsson fouling Huszti and in the end Hungary won a corner taken by Koman.
There were substitutions in the 82nd minute as Rudolf came out and Hajnal came in. The Swedes won another corner in the 85th minute and took their time to adjust and bring an outcome.
They nearly had it but Király fouled and was shown a yellow card. In the 87th minute Ibrahimović tried to score but the world class striker seemed a bit out of touch with his finishing and hence missed again.
In the 88th minute, Huszti gave away a free kick on S. Larsson. The Swedes tried to lower down the tempo of the match waiting for the final whistle as 4 minutes of injury time were added.
Z. Laczkó got warned in the 91st minute with a yellow card being shown immediately. Källström took the free kick but Király was too fast for him.
In the 92nd minute Priskin challenged Mellberg resulting in another free kick just before Lázár was given a yellow card in the 93rd minute. In the last minute, Ibrahimović took the free kick in attempt to assist a goal but it never happened as soon afterwards the referee blew his whistle declaring Sweden’s 2-0 victory Hungary.
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