International Friendly – Full time report: Sweden versus Germany
The match started off at a good tempo as in the 11th minute of the match, Germans were on the attack as their energetic midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger tried his luck on the Swedish goal. However, the Bayern Munich
man was wide of the mark with his effort as the score line remained stagnant at nil all.
In the 15th minute, the ball fell to Jerome Boateng from a German corner, the Manchester City defender gained control of the loose ball inside the Swedish penalty area. However, his shot was deflected on route to
goal as Swedes once again helped themselves out in defence. Despite missing, the likes of Klose and Ozil in attack, Germany kept hold of the ball for large stages of the first half. The Bavarian giants fielded a relatively young side which showed no hesitance
when it came to pressing their opponents high up the field to gain possession as early as possible.
Germany had two close calls on offside decisions in the 20th and the 24th minute respectively of the first half. At first it was Kevin Grosskreutz who was caught offside for the Germans and
then it was their winger Marko Marin from Werder Bremen who was whistled offside by the linesman. In the 28th minute of the match, Swedes had their first shot on the German goal as Pontus Wernbloom tried his luck with a well taken kick
but unfortunately for the Scandinavian giants, Pontus was wide of the German goal with his shot.
In the 36th minute, Germany had another chance to take the lead in the first half of the encounter in Sweden as their player; Marcel Schmelzer took a shot on target. The shot was quite a powerful one which was on
target but Sweden’s goalkeeper was on hand to deny the Germans their opener. Germany pressed on after Marcel’s shot on goal in search of a lead but Swedes competed well with their opponents as they were supported by the support of the home crowd. Sweden didn’t
create many opportunities for themselves in the first half but they also limited the Germans to shots from outside the box.
Sami Khedira had Germany’s last chance to score before the referee blew for half time. The Real Madrid midfielder who was all action in the first half was wide of the target with his drive as the referee blew his whistle for half time.
The first half came to a close with both the teams deadlocked at nil all.
The second half resumed for both the teams with the Germans making their first substitution of the match as Andreas Beck replaced Jerome Boateng at the right back position for the 2010 World Cup semi-finalists. In the 50th minute
of the match, referee brandished his yellow card for the first time in the match as Kim Kallstrom from the Swedish national team was booked for his cynical tackle on Marko Marin.
In the 54th minute, Germany embarked on their trademark pass which build up a brilliant play. Schweinsteiger was at the end of the move as he played in Khedira, whose shot just missed the Swedish goal post by a
whisker. It was a delightful play by the Germans who thrilled the crowd throughout the match with their impressive movement and skilful passing.
Germany soon rung a host of changes as Toni Kroos replaced Schweinsteiger, Khedira was replaced by Christian Trasch and Cacau replaced Marko Marin in attack for the Bavarian giants. The changes almost paid immediate dividends as in the
72nd minute; Christian Trasch had a shot on target which was acrobatically saved by the Swedish goalkeeper. It was a tremendous effort by the German midfielder but the goalkeeper was just too good in his reflexes as the Swedes maintained
parity with the Germans.
In the 75th minute, Sweden almost drew first blood themselves as Oscar Wendt found himself in space in front of the German goal. However, the striker could not produce a calm finish as his shot lacked accuracy.
For a moment it looked as if the centre forward was offside but the referee didn’t wave his flag despite the protests from the German defence. The rest of the match was played at pedestrian pace as none of the players from either of the two sides wanted to
risk injuries for just a friendly matchup. Therefore the final whistle came with the score line at nil all as Sweden and Germany played out a rather dull match at the Ullevi stadium in Sweden.
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