Italy in trouble after loss; Switzerland, Croatia eyeing progress
A second-half goal by Sweden substitute Jakob Johansson was enough to beat Italy 1-0 on Friday and put his side in the driving seat after its World Cup playoff first leg on a chilly night.
Italy’s Andrea Belotti sent an early header just wide but after that the visitors showed little ambition, seemingly hoping for a draw to take back to Milan for Monday’s second leg as it battles for a place at next year’s tournament in Russia.
That all changed when Johansson came off the bench to replace Albin Ekdal in the 57th minute and four minutes later snapped up a flick-on from a throw-in and hammered the ball through a forest of legs where it was deflected into the net.
Matteo Darmian came closest to an equalizer, sending a shot cannoning off a post, but the visiting forward line failed to ignite and Italy is now in danger of missing the World Cup finals for the first time since 1958 in Sweden.
With retired record goalscorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic watching from the stands, Sweden peppered the Italian defense with long balls but the experienced trio of Andrea Barzagli, Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci dealt comfortably with the bombardment.
In a combative game, midfielder Marco Veratti was booked midway through the first half for a tackle on Marcus Berg and will miss the return leg due to suspension.
Italy manager Gian Piero Ventura cut a frustrated figure on the touchline, sending on Lorenzo Insigne for Veratti in the 76th minute and the Napoli forward immediately provided a much-needed spark of creativity.
But with a crowd of 49,193 roaring them on, the Swedes cleared their lines repeatedly and defended heroically through five minutes of added time to hang on for a superb home victory.
Meanwhile, Northern Ireland is focused on improving its passing and pressing when it faces Switzerland in the second leg of their World Cup playoff on Sunday rather than dwelling on the controversial penalty that led to defeat in the first match. LEGENDARY ITALIAN goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon is in serious danger of missing out on next summer’s World Cup after Italy suffered a 1-0 defeat at Sweden in its playoff first leg on Friday.
Switzerland brought a 1-0 win back from Belfast thanks to the penalty, awarded for handball by Corry Evans after he blocked Xherdan Shaqiri’s acrobatic volley at point-blank range, leaving it as a firm favorite to progress on Sunday.
The decision incensed Northern Ireland as Evans had his back to the ball and it seemed impossible for him to get out of the way.
Also Sunday, Croatia looks to wrapup its progress when it enters the second leg at Greece with a 4-1 cushion from the first match.
Elsewhere Friday, England held world champion Germany to a 0-0 draw after giving debuts to five players as its inexperienced team came through a first-half lesson to hold its own in a lively Wembley friendly.
With a host of established players missing, England’s callow defense was routinely sliced open in the first period and it needed debutant goalkeeper Jordan Pickford to keep the Germans at bay.
But England also had some bright moments, with midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek making an assured debut and having great chances at the start and end of the match.
England manager Gareth Southgate, shorn of more than half his likely first-choice side, was pleased with much that he saw, despite the result leaving England still searching for its first home win over its old rival since 1975.
“In the first half we needed a couple of really good saves from Jordan Pickford - we caused our own problems with a couple of those. But we posed our own questions and I thought we used the ball well,” Southgate told ITV.
“Ruben Loftus-Cheek did everything I know he can do. It took him 10 minutes to realize he is OK at this level. He is capable of anything. He has the physical attributes and can handle the ball. He will gain huge confidence from it. There will be harder tests as the likes of Germany will have another gear to go to,” he said.
Germany was also in somewhat experimental mode and its coach Joachim Loew will have been delighted in particular with an impressive display by Leroy Sane as his team stretched its unbeaten run to 20 games since losing to France in the Euro 2016 semifinals.
England’s young starting team boasted 101 caps between them and one of the debutants, Tammy Abraham, was a centimeter away from scoring with his first touch in international football after 90 seconds.
Germany too was without some heavyweight players and gave a debut to defender Marcel Halstenberg and had goalkeeper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen making his second appearance.
England faces another stiff test when it hosts Brazil on Tuesday while Germany takes on France.
(Reuters)