Sweden Vs Russia: Dutchman Hiddinks side set for a faceoff against Dutch in EURO Quarters
June 18 2008. The final major encounter in the group stages of EURO 2008 was going to be another slobber knocker, as Russians faced off against the Swedish side. With a narrow victory against group leaders Spain last time around, Sweden only needed a point to prove and a draw world have been enough for them to qualify. Simultaneously, with a win over European Champions Greece, Russia was all set to put yet another determined effort for booking their own place in the quarters.
Russians were on top of their game from the onset. They used a similar strategy with Roman Pavluychenko, which got them past the defense of resilient English side last October in the European Qualifiers. Striker, Pavluychenko, opened the scoring for Russians early in the first half with a goal in the 24th minute missing the efforts of Swedish keeper Andreas Isaksson. Although there were efforts from Ibrahimovic & Ljunberg, still the first half belonged to the Russians with side being a goal ahead
It felt like a mismatch in most part of the game with Russians running away with the tie and looked to end it in the first half only. It was only to some brilliance from Isaksson that Hiddink’s men were not able to score more than a brace. However within five minutes of the restart, Arshavin, who returned to the side after a suspension, scored the second goal for the Russians and ended it for the Swedes. Russian attack was so promising on the night that they could have scored more than the final score line 2-0. It was only the woodwork that saved them from scoring in the final minute.
Now, Dutchman Hiddink’s Russian side will face off against the might of Van Basten’s Netherlands in what is going to be an eagerly anticipated match of the tournament.
