And here is David Hytner’s match report from the Stade de France:
That’s it from me, but do go and join Simon Burnton who is covering the Belgium v Italy in the MBM style. You can watch a jazzy preview of that match below.
Other areas of concern for Ireland: they looked pretty puffed at the end of that, and we’re a match in. Areas of concern for Sweden: Ireland ganged up on Zlatan then, Clark, O’Shea and Coleman putting a cage around him all too easily. He was pretty ineffective as a result.
Ireland were very good in the first half, with Sweden hopeless. But scoring at the start of the second half seemed to panic them somehow. They became cautious and fretful, and it was almost inevitable that Sweden would score. A goal apiece feels a fair result given that, but will Ireland have a few regrets that they didn’t see this one out? They probably should do.
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THAT'S IT
Full time: Coleman attempts to run round the outside and get a cross in from the byline, but Forsberg tackles and clears. Ireland in no hurry to take the throw-in. And with that the referee blows the whisle. It finishes: 1-1
90 min+2: Whelan stands over the ball on the right, looking for support, but eventually sees that McGeady is down. He passes the ball into touch and Sweden have to give it back to Ireland from the throw in.
90 min +1: Ireland keep hold of the ball, sending it all the way back to Randolph and then forwards again. McClean attempts to get onto a ball into the box but Isaksson can clear.
90 min: Long is clattered in the centre circle, earning a free-kick. O’Shea lumps it forward, but the ball is repelled. Ireland build slowly, as the fourth official announces three minutes of added time.
89 min: Though Hoolahan was tiring, he was still linking the play nicely at the top of the diamond. Ireland not been the same since he went off, with Ronnie Keane virtually invisible. At the back, Randolph comes flying out from the goal like Superman, punching the ball halfway up the pitch.
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88 min: Still, Ireland are still going forwards when they can. McClean crosses to nobody in the Sweden area, then attempts to get on a return cross back across the box. Nothing doing, but there’s still intent from Ireland.
87 min: McClean is lucky. He has almost no control of the ball as Ireland attempt to break and is clipped to the ground., Had he lost the ball there, Sweden would have been able to build an attack. Still, he gets s free-kick. Ireland’s plan at the moment is to keep things scrappy as Sweden attack, attack, attack.
86 min: Granquist goes down in the box, with O’Shea in close attendance, to howls from the Swedish support. Neither the player not the referee are bothered.
85 min: A Swedish sub now: Ekdal on for Lewicki.
84 min: Larsson, with Sweden very much on top, lofts a ball in for Guidetti but the substitute doesn’t read the pass, and instead the ball goes out for an Irish goal kick. It’s hoofed long but Ireland, very tired now, can’t keep hold of the ball. Eventually Whelan clatters a man in the centre circle and concedes the free-kick. McGeady comes on for McCarthy and runs immediately over to mark Olsson.
82 min: Ireland are sat very deep, with Sweden in complete control. Olsson is, once again, entirely free on the left and he fizzes another wonderful cross into the box. This one is low and Ireland are lucky that it evades everyone. They need to close Olsson down.
Somebody quietly kick Olsson, please.
— Dara Ó Briain (@daraobriain) June 13, 2016
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80 min: Ireland are tiring, and Larsson thrashes another cross into the box for Ibrahimovic - who, a moment earlier, had gone down in the box looking for a penalty.
79 min: Olsson finds Ibrahimovic in the box once again, a combination that Ireland need to cut out very quickly. This time, the Swede fouls Clark, who had got a good head on the ball anyway.
78 min: O’Neill’s not messing around here - he takes off Hoolahan, who has been excellent but is tiring, for Robbie Keane.
@TomBry Wait. We're taking Wes off? Um ... not liking.
— Hubert O'Hearn (@BTBReviews) June 13, 2016
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77 min: Long tears into the box, chasing after a long ball that Isaksson half thought about coming out for. In a mildly frantic fashion, Ireland build pressure but without much quality on the ball. Sweden clear, and first Ibrahiomovic clatters and Ireland player, before Whelan retaliates with a sturdy challenge on Lewicki. He is booked for his troubles.
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76 min: An Irish corner finds Hoolahan but he can’t twist his body around to get a shot on goal. He passes to McClean and the ball whizzes about the area until a cross is lofted to the back post, where an Ireland player fouls a Sweden defender.
74 min: Hoolahan brings down a long ball with the most perfect of touches, but then lumps an agricultural cross too high over the box with Long and McClean lurking. Shame. Still, Ireland are back on the good foot here - playing with the sort of positive intent they should have maintained after their goal.
72 min: Clark was in a difficult position there. Had he left it, Larsson would have scored so he had to deal with a tricky ball at pace across the goal.
GOAL! Republic of Ireland 1-1 Sweden (Clark, 71, og)
A wonderful, fast and incisive passing move sends the ball whizzing through the Irish defence. Ibrahimovic cuts the ball across the face of the goal and Clark, with Larsson right behind him, heads the ball into his own net.
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70 min: Hoolahan is shoved to the floor by a Swedish defender, winning a free-kick on the right wing and fair way out. The ball is pinged into the box, though, finding McClean who gets a good head to the ball but sends the ball high over the bar. Ireland just beginning to creep back into this but still they need to be wary of Sweden’s threat.
68 min: Clark, I think, clumps a clearance forward and is lucky that it whizzes past Lindelof and hits Long. The striker wasn’t really expecting it though and, despite being in behind the Swedish defence, he cannot control the ball. Had he been able to, he would have a long-ish, but clear run into the box.
Dame lane in #Dublin 💚 #COYBIG #IRL #OleOleOle @TomBry pic.twitter.com/3QxWsn2O3H
— Lorna O'Driscoll (@lornao_driscoll) June 13, 2016
66 min: A lovely little bit of skill from Hoolahan, rolling the ball one way then the other, gives him half a yard, and he passes to McClean down the left wing. The substitute slightly over-runs it though and the ball goes out for a goal kick.
“I’ve been dreading this moment. McClean makes me nervous as hell. 26 minutes is plenty of time to do a lot of rash, silly, and dangerous things,” writes J.R. in Illinois.
64 min: Olsson finds Ibrahimovic again in the area, with another very good ball. The Swedish striker is offside, though, but heads over anyway.
“It was way more enjoyable when it was 0:0,” frets Is Murray. “It’s a funny old game.”
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63 min: Ireland are preparing to bring James McClean on but are struggling to do so. Martin O’Neill goes entirely mental on the touchline and eventually the fourth official hoists his board. McClean replaces Walters, who has put in a shift today.
60 min: That is very, very close. Olsson is allowed all sorts of room to get a cross in, and drops the ball perfectly onto Ibrahimovic’s foot. He slashes a shot just, just, just wide of Randolph’s right hand post. Ireland are backing off too much - a Swedish goal feels inevitable if they carry on.
58 min: Berg has had a difficult afternoon up front. He’s replaced by John Guidetti, once of Manchester City (but barely).
57 min: Signs that Ireland are getting vertigo, Brady hits a wild crossfield ball that goes behind Coleman and out for a throw-in. Sweden lurking dangerously now.
56 min: Olsson goes on a galloping run up the left, stretching the Ireland defence all over the place. He crosses to Ibrahimovic, who has his back to goal, but the striker can’t turn to get a shot on. Ireland still living a touch dangerously.
52 min: The third corner is finally cleared properly, and Ireland break through Brady. Running on adrenaline, he’s tempted to keep running up the right wing but notices that he has no support, steps back and waits for support. He wins a free-kick, vindicating his decision, and the heat goes out of Sweden’s momentum.
51 min: Ireland living dangerously now. McCarthy concedes a free-kick and is lucky not to get a second yellow. Kallstrom delivers again, and the ball is flicked on to Ibrahimovic and Sweden get ever closer to a goal. Two corners follow, and again there’s panic in the Ireland defence. Walters knocks both behind.
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49 min: There’s trouble at the other end immediately. Sweden charge up the other end and win a corner, which Kallstrom takes. O’Shea slices the ball while attempting to clear and Randolph has to dive sharply to his left to get a hand to it. The ball falls to Forsberg, who has the goal at his mercy nit smashes it over.
48 min: That is a lovely strike from Hoolahan. Coleman had twisted his way up the right, before cutting the ball back high across the penalty area, taking out the entire Swedish defence as he did so. It was a difficult ball to control, though, so Hoolahan instead just curled it home first time. Great strike.
GOAL! Republic of Ireland 1-0 Sweden (Hoolahan, 47)
A brilliant swipe into the right corner from Hoolahan. That had been coming!
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46 min: Walters gets a brave head to the ball, and nearly gets a boot to the face while he’s at it, but nods the ball down to Hendrick who hits another long range, low skimmer at goal. Isaksson saves comfortably.
Peep peep!
Off we go again: The Republic of Ireland get the match started, passing back straight from the kick-off but with only one man on the centre spot, as the new rules allow.
Out come the teams - second half around the corner.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic vs Ireland HT:
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) June 13, 2016
Shots 2
Shots on Target 0
Key Passes 0
Dispossessed 3
Aerial Duels Won 2
Rating 6.17
“Highlights of a great first half for the Irish,” writes Justin Kavanagh, “were Hendrick’s ability to flick his hair out of his eye before picking out a pass, and Shane Long’s courteous correction of the goalline official’s penalty non-call: ‘HEEEY!! HE [BAD WORD] TOOK ME OUT!’ Good man Shane! We heard that one all the way over here in America!”
Hendrick has been Ireland’s best player, in my opinion. Brady a close second.
Some half time reading:
Is Murray is waving this flag around at home. Good lord.
HALF TIME
That’s the end of a fantastic first half for the Republic of Ireland, who are hammering Sweden 0-0 at the moment.
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44 min: Lustig is down in a heap and being attended to by physios. His game is over and he has to limp off. He is replaced by Johansson.
43 min: Hoolahan holds up the ball in the centre of the park, but largely only because he can’t quite sort his feet out. He passes to Walters on the right, he clips in a cross to nobody in the box. Sweden break, and McCarthy earns himself a yellow card by pulling the man breaking back.
“I think your 20th minute comment about Whelan’s errant pass summarises the usual Ireland performance in a nutshell: ‘It doesn’t quite pay off, but it had promise’,” writes Mike MacKenzie.
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41 min: Corner to Ireland, which Brady lifts into the box. Ibrahimovic clears and Brady lifts it straight back again. Larsson clears this time but Ireland keep possession. FInally, Brady lofts another wonderful ball into the box which curls away from Isaksson. Long attempts to get on the end of it but hits the deck - he thinks he was fouled by Olsson but I don’t think he was.
“Very concerned with how well we’re playing. That sort of thing never works out well,” frets Niall Mullen.
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38 min: Olsson earns Sweden a corner, their first of the match. Ibrahimovic and Granquist plants themselves five yards out from the goalline. Larsson whips the ball in, but it’s cleared before being headed then hoofed back in to Ibrahimovic. But, under pressure from Hoolahan, the big Swede can’t get a shot on goal.
36 min: Ireland are losing out in the possession stakes but have had four shots at goal and three corners, to Sweden’s sod all. Ten minutes left of the half, Ireland will feel they should go in 1-0 up at the least.
35 min: O’Shea sends Forsberg to the turf with a robust challenge, but again the referee lets it go. It’s good to see too and has been a hallmark of the tournament so far.
34 min: Walters knocks down a long kick, and Hoolahan attempts to get past the hulking figure of Granquist in the Swedish area. He can’t quite manage it, but it’s another sign that Ireland have the momentum at the moment. Feels like they need to score soon to make the most of it.
31 min: Hendrick, who has been lively and dangerous so far, constructs a wonderful move through the middle of the Sweden half - giving, going, receiving, then lashing a wonderful shot that clatters into the Sweden crossbar. Unlucky. Isaksson was well beaten.
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28 min: It nearly pays dividends too! Ireland work the ball forwards, looking for a cross. But finally, it breaks to Brady who rasps a piledriver at goal from 35 metres. The ball goes over the bar - but not by much - rippling the top of the net.
27 min: Finally, after Sweden pass the ball around for a full five minutes, do Ireland get a go - but only after a poor pass to Olsson means he lets it out for a throw in. Ireland do something similar with it for a few minutes, before Randolph gasps the nettle and hoofs it upfield.
26 min: Now Sweden get a chance to attack. Berg and Ibrhimovic combine on the edge of the Ireland area, before the ball is passed to Larsson who makes a mess of things. Still, Sweden keep possession, passing the ball between them and edging slowly forwards.
25 min: Sweden slow things down, passing the ball about in the Ireland half but without finding any openings. Finally Kallstrom lifts a long ball into the box, which Clark nods clear, before Ireland win a free-kick courtesy of an offside Ibrahimovic. It’s been a patchy match so far, no real flow to it. Edgy but keenly fought.
23 min: Lustig humps a high cross into the Ireland area from very deep. He’s looking for Berg, who comes haring in, but Randolph is again on top of things and is out to claim.
21 min: Sweden have a free-kick, 35 metres out. Ibrahimovic does not think about lifting the ball into the box for someone to nod on. Of course he doesn’t. Instead, he thwacks a shot into the wall, failing to get under it. He looks rueful.
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20 min: Long drifts off the Swedish back four, then jags forward. Whelan spots him, launching a long ball over two thirds of the pitch. It doesn’t quite pay off, but it had promise.
17 min: Ireland are a whisker away from a goal! Clark heads down the corner across the box and O’Shea, six yards out, makes a half-hearted, foot-first dive at it, but fails to connect. Probably should have been a goal there.
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16 min: Free-kick to Ireland, 30 yards out. Brady lifts the ball into the box, rather than blasting an ambitious shot at goal. He looks for Long, but Lindelof gets in and clears for a corner.
15 min: There’s a brief moment of panic in the Sweden box. O’Shea takes Lustig out of the game with a certain amount of devious play, and the ball lands at Ibrahimovic’s feet, five yards from goal. He can’t quite get his feet organised but is lucky there is no opposition player near him. By the time the Ireland players react, he has got it clear.
14 min: Brady, in what is a good period for Ireland, comes forward up the left hand side. He wins a throw in deep into the Sweden half, from which he attempts a cross. It is blocked but Ireland win a corner from it.
13 min: Hendrick heaves a long ball from midfield over the Swedish back four and into the path of Walters, but Isaksson is out quickly to claim.
12 min: There’s a clash in the Sweden half, and it appears that Long has clattered Lindelof but the referee did not spot it and nor, frankly, did I.
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11 min: Sweden whip a dangerous ball across the area and into the path of Berg, who had lost Coleman. Randolph is quick to react though and deals with it.
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9 min: Walters knocks down a long throw and, from nowhere, Hendrick pops up to slam a shot at goal. It’s saved and Isaakson taps it behind for a corner, from which Ireland can’t capitalise
7 min: James McCarthy slips as he goes in on Lustig, clattering the Sweden right back and sending high up into the air and back to the turf. The referee, as has been the case so far in this tournament, is not all that fussed.
6 min: Olsson has a run up the left, hammering a cross into the legs of Whelan and out for a throw in. The ball makes its way back to him from the throw-in and he crosses once more, but his ball is too high for Ibrahimovic at the far post.
“A match at the Euros featuring three (three!) Norwich players! The viewing figures in Norfolk will be through the roof…” reckons Charles Horwood
4 min: The ball spends a considerably period being lumped from one end of the pitch to the other. Eventually, Forsberg attempts a run into the Ireland area but the ball is whipped from him and sent into touch.
3 min: Brady sends over the free-kick and the big men at the back of the Sweden defence clear it relatively easily.
Richard Harland writes: “Good to see Sweden sticking with the 4-4-2. Presumably the defence is a flat-pack four?”
2 min: Clark lets Berg know what he’s in for, clattering the Sweden striker to howls from the Sweden fans but no parp from the ref’s whistle. Brady draws a challenge from Larsson high up the Ireland left wing, and earns a free kick.
PEEP PEEP!
We’re off: Sweden, in yellow, kick off and are playing from right to left as we look at it. They adopt one of the new snazzy pass-it-back-straight-from-kick-off, but still have two men up on the centre-spot to do it. Hedging their bets.
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Music blares from the stadium PA: fans on both sides utterly drown it out with cheering, chanting and downright yelling. Which is as it should be. Here come the anthems, everyone stand up.
We’re not far away now: the teams are in the tunnel and the bad news for Irish fans is that Zlatan looks ridiculously focused.
It’s disappeared from up top, so here it is down here: our video dept have put together a preview of the match and, if I had to lay a bet on it, I’d say they’ve nicked the incidental music from the TV show Hustle to back it.
And a bit more in here.
“Where is the Joy of Six Zlatan Ibrahimovic Football moments? For balance, of course …” asks Justin Dinkha. There’s one in here, Justin:
Ezra Cohen writes: “I remember watching Andreas Isaksson saving a David Beckham shot in the World Cup in 2006. I’m surprised that, 10 years on, he’s still between the sticks for his national side. This is the Euro for oldie goalies: Buffon, Cech, Casillas ... So much for all those young guns flexing their muscles and outrunning the veterans. When you’re a goalkeeper your place is based on saves and not running. Long live Isaksson, until he’s in a wheelchair may he stay in goal.”
Well, he’s retiring after this tournament, but I know what you mean.
Martin O’Neill is delighted Walters is fit: “That’s a big bonus for us, it was touch and go a few weeks ago. I hope it won’t bother him that he’s lost a few days training.”
Asked about Ibrahimovic, he says: “The Swedish side collectively have been big players. You know what Sweden are all about - Sweden qualify for competitions and they get there. I accept the Ibrahimovic is their talisman, but it’s not a one man show.”
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For anyone wanting to get themselves in the mood for this with some nostalgia, here’s Scott Murray serving it up hot.
News of two of Ireland’s youngest fans coming in as we get it. They look happy. It won’t last.
@TomBry first tournament watching the Boys in Green 11 months old #COYBIG 2-1 Irish win pic.twitter.com/Tvwdk802MM
— John McEnerney (@MackerOnTheMed) June 13, 2016
The Republic of Ireland player the Swedes are most concerned about is Shane Long. They have identified him as a danger man and will be marking him accordingly, while they’re also wary of the threat from set pieces - so much so, and because they’ve had trouble with set-pieces in the past, they’ve appointed a dedicated coach to deal with defending corners and free-kicks. Read more on that sort of thing here, with David Hytner.
Gary Naylor makes a valid point:
Surely Sweden's formation is their traditional Who?- Doesn't matter-Whoever- ZLATAN? @TomBry
— Gary Naylor (@garynaylor999) June 13, 2016
It would seem Ireland, then, are playing that diamond formation with Long and Walters up front, with Whelan, McCarthy and Hendrick behind Hoolahan in the hole. Sweden are set up in the reasonably traditional 4-4-2 they have been lining up of late.
Teams
Republic of Ireland: Randolph, Coleman, O’Shea, Clark, Brady, McCarthy, Whelan, Hendrick, Hoolahan, Walters, Long.
Subs: Westwood, Keogh, McGeady, Keane, McClean, Duffy, Christie, Ward, Meyler, Murphy, Quinn, Given.
Sweden: Isaksson, Lustig, Lindelof, Granqvist, Olsson, Larsson, Lewicki, Kallstrom, Forsberg, Berg, Ibrahimovic.
Subs: Olsen, Johansson, Ekdal, Jansson, Hiljemark, Wernbloom, Augustinsson, Kujovic, Guidetti, Durmaz, Zengin, Carlgren.
Referee: Milorad Mazic (Serbia)
Hello!
The Republic of Ireland will not have happy memories of the Stade de France, not after Thierry Henry and all that. They may not leave today with them, either, if their current run of form against Sweden continues. They haven’t beaten their opponents today in their last six encounters with them and, in qualifying for the 2014 World Cup drew 0-0 and lost 2-1 in Dublin.
Those are just numbers though, really. Ireland in 2016 are a different beast to the negative, defensive side they were under Giovanni Trapattoni. With Martin O’Neill and his sidekick Roy Keane at the helm, they are arguably less talented but far more effective. O’Neill is fed up with the buildup to the tournament, keen to get on with things and is exuding confidence - perhaps partly inspired by Keane, who reckons the team will feel they can win all three of their group matches. Perhaps that’s to instil belief but Keane is not often a man to bandy about wild predictions. The pair have set about trying to inject some club spirit into the national side – if they can succeed, the Republic of Ireland will be a force to be reckoned with.
Today, they look as if they’ll play with the diamond in midfield that allows Wes Hoolahan to pull strings behind Walters and Long, but more on that when confirmed team news comes in.
As for Sweden, it’s all about one man. And that man is in confident mood: “I feel really strong at the moment,” said Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the buildup to this match. “I feel that I’m getting better and better, with every year that passes. It’s all about developing and learning new things and not being satisfied.
“You have to have the hunger to become a better player. I demand that I work hard, practise and don’t sit down. I know what I want. I know I am going to do it – simple as that.”
Given all that, he was asked why he had yet to dominate at an international tournament. “I have been dominating wherever I go,” he said. “I have no issue about that.”
But for all his outrageous talent, he is short of pace. The Ireland defence is short of pace too, but they are big - as big as Zlatan. Sweden have gone from being an attack-minded side to a more defensive one in recent years. They are practical, rather than full of flair – more of that here – so could this be a match in which the ball is repeatedly hoofed into the mixer, with Ibrahimovic attempting to get onto the ball, the Republic of Ireland defence repeatedly heading it back out? We shall see.
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