Sweden 1-0 South Korea
Of all the SBOBET odds on offer, of all the World Cup 2018 predictions, this issue wasn’t even on the agenda, wasn’t ever envisaged.
A spying row in Russia may not seem that much of a shock but, when it’s the Swedes saying sorry for spying on a rival football team, it is hard to take in.
The news that a member of the Swedish coaching staff had used a house near South Korea’s World Cup 2018 base to watch a closed training session, using a high-performance telescope and video camera, was scarcely believable.
But that created the backdrop to this Group F encounter as Spygate and Swedish infiltration (management claimed they thought it was an open session) threatened to damage relations between the nations.
Highlights of the game
The Nizhny Novgorod Stadiumon the west bank of the Volga River was the venue for their first meeting at a World Cup and, as Korea started more promisingly, it was easy to forget Sweden had performed brilliantly in the European qualifiers,including upsetting Italy in November’s play-offs.
Yet, slowly, the Scandinavians turned up the heat and after a superbly timed tackle from Kim Young-gwon stopped skipper Andreas Granqvist as he prepared to pull the trigger, goalkeeper Cho Hyun-woo somehow kept out a close range shot from Marcus Berg to deny him a certain goal.
Not content with that, the Korean number one then sprang to his feet and punched the loose ball to safety.
As the Swedes eased out of their sluggish start, Korea were a danger on the break and Tottenham’s Son Heung-min – the biggest football star in the country- had the clear beating of Granqvist.
After a season in which he scored 18 goals, it is in the interests of the Spurs man to have a good summer with his national team.
Behind him was another Premier League import, Ki Sung-yueng of Swansea, who captained the side and is very much the heartbeat of South Korea, a nation which has enriched the World Cup in modern times, even if the class of 2018 looks far from vintage.
The pattern of play remained the same and, while Viktor Claesson was unfortunate to see a header deflect away for a corner, it was becoming increasingly clear to see why the Swedes had only scored one goal in four games and none in their past three matches, incorporating more than five hours of play.
Berg and Ola Toivonen were the men tasked with ending that run and it was the latter who came closest after the break when his header, from a pinpoint Sebastian Larsson delivery, was again saved by Hyun-woo.
With frustration mounting, Sweden were then given an opportunity to end their drought.
With VAR used to award a penalty in the 63rd minute after Kim Min-woo brought down Claesson, skipper Granqvist finished coolly for 12 yards – a centre back taking a penalty a rare sight but a successful one for Swedes.
They were the majority inside the stadium, although a number of empty seats weren’t helped by the cancellation of a flight from Stockholm on the morning of the match which left a group of 120 supporters heartbroken.
The decision to award a penalty was the correct one but reinforced claims that VAR has not been trialled sufficiently ahead of the tournament.
Instead of being consulted during a natural stoppage, play was stopped as Korea attacked – just a thought to ponder as the big experiment continues.
In truth, after the goal Korea continued to create little, much to the frustration of coach Shin Tae-yong, and Sweden were comfortably defensively – Hwang Hee-Chan missing their only real chance in the first minute of stoppage time.
So spy row put to one side by Sweden, who deserved their victory against a Korean team of which only four play their club football in Europe.
Key statistics
Three players, Hong Chul, Kim Min-woo and Ju Se-jong, saluted the Taegukgi flag when the South Korean national anthem was played before the game. That is because they are all on military service.
This was the first time for eight tournaments that Sweden have won one of their opening games at the World Cup. That previous victory came in 1958.
This was the first time in five World Cups that Korea have lost their opener.
This was the first time since 1992 that Sweden had competed in a tournament without Henrik Larsson or Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Sweden’s biggest-ever victory came against South Korea (12-0) at the 1948 Olympic Games.
What’s next?
It’s still all up for grabs after a surprise win by Mexico over defending champions Germanydisturbed the natural order of the group.
Korea now head to Rostov to take on Mexico, with Sweden facing a wounded Germany in the Fisht Olympic Stadium in Sochi.
Stay briefed with all the latest at our World Cup 2018 updates and tackle our World Cup challenge.
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