International Friendly – Half time review: Sweden versus Germany
Sweden and Germany played out an interesting first half of international football as it was Germany who started the match off on the front foot. The German’s had their first shot on target with their midfielder, Sami Khedira. The Real
Madrid defensive enforcer surged forward and drove towards goal but his shot was blocked effectively by the on hand Swedish defence. Khedira’s shot was blocked in the 4th minute of the match as Sweden defended very well early on in
the first half.
In the 11th minute of the match, Germans were on the attack again and this time it was their energetic midfielder, Bastian Schweinsteiger who 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 24th minute respectively from 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 before the break as an encounter in Sweden area 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.
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