Sweden will learn from thrashing against Netherlands, coach says
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HOUSTON, June 20 : Sweden can take some positives from the opportunities players created but will learn from the slow start they experienced against a better Netherlands side following a 5-1 loss in their World Cup Group F match on Saturday, coach Graham Potter said.
Two goals in the first 17 minutes from Brian Brobbey, two more in the second half for Cody Gakpo and a late goal from Crysencio Summerville helped the Netherlands cruise to an impressive win over Sweden.
The Swedes – full of optimism after crushing Tunisia 5-1 in their opening match – gave the ball away too easily and could not contain the Dutch, though they started to create chances after the first hydration break.
“We lost to the better team, for sure,” Potter said. “The scoreline’s a little harsh on us, but sometimes that happens in football, especially with the quality of the opponent we face.
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“We got off to not a good start, which then puts you behind in the game and then affects the mood. After the first break, we thought we did really well. We adjusted things a little bit, which made it better for us.”
The Netherlands top Group F with four points and Sweden stayed on three after two matches. Japan and Tunisia meet in Monterrey later on Saturday.
That makes the final group game against Japan critical for Sweden’s chances of moving into the knockout stage of the tournament – a mission that will require emulating the Dutch when it comes to finishing chances, Potter said.
“I thought we had some good opportunities, shots,” Potter said. “But they were more clinical. Their finishes were more deadly, shall we say, and ours were probably not quite, which can happen.”
Sweden had 16 attempts on goal compared to 10 for the Netherlands and had more shots on target, but aside from an Anthony Elanga second-half strike came away empty.
Viktor Gyokeres presented the main danger for Sweden early on with a free kick and a curling effort that tested Dutch goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen.
Yasin Ayari also had a chance to get Sweden back into the game in the first half but could not control the ball with his chest with only the goalkeeper to beat.
“We’ll cling to the positives and there will be some positives there, but at the same time, we also have to make sure we defend better than we did,” Potter said.
Source: Reuters
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