Portugal 3 - Sweden 2

Photo by Jonathan Nackstrand

Portugal were visiting Solna to take on hosts Sweden.  The Swedes needed to overcome a 1-0 deficit in order to make it to Brasil 2014.  Sweden were trying their best to make inroads toward the Portuguese goal, but their connections in the final third failed to impress.  In fact, it would be Portugal who had the best chance of the half.  Cristiano Ronaldo (pictured, red) picked out Hugo Almeida with a cross, but Almeida inexplicably missed the header wide of goal with half the net available for him in which to score.  Zlatan Ibrahimovic was forced to drop deep into his own half to get on the ball for Sweden, meaning their main attacking presence was limited in the first half.  The opening period ended as it had begun, with the scoreboard level at 0-0.

The match exploded into a goal frenzy after the restart.  It would not be a stretch to say that the second half of this match provided the best forty-five minutes of the entire tournament to date.  Ibrahimovic nearly created an opener for Sweden, swinging a ball in off the end line to Sebastian Larsson, but the attempted finish was too weak to trouble the goal.  In response, Joao Moutinho laced a long through ball from just behind the center line that put Ronaldo in with a chance.  Ronaldo angled his run to fend off the marking of Martin Olsson before finishing to put Portugal ahead 1-0 and to secure any potential road-goals tiebreaker in their favor.  At the midway point of the second half, Sweden scored off a corner kick.  Kim Kallstrom swung a ball into the six-yard box.  Portugal centerback Bruno Alves was holding Ibrahimovic down as best he could, but Alves forgot to jump for the header.  Even though Ibrahimovic was only able to get a few inches off the ground, the header was unmarked and the result of the play was an equalizer.  Four minutes later, Sweden were level on aggregate thanks to a free kick goal from the top of the box.  Ibrahimovic sent the ball low and to the side of the wall, but he put so much pace on the shot that the goalkeeper could not reach it.  Sweden were ahead 2-1 on the day and were now only one goal shy of qualifying for the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals.  With Sweden still having to push up the field in hopes of a goal, another long through ball to Ronaldo leveled the score.  Almeida played provider, but Ronaldo played finisher as again he shot from wide left of the goal into the right corner as he beat the sliding block from Mikael Antonsson.  Portugal were not content with 2-2.  Two minutes later, another long through ball to Ronaldo did the damage.  Ronaldo this time ran to his right, dropping the goalkeeper as he angled wide before sending the ball into the roof of the net from eight yards out to put Portugal ahead 3-2.  The comeback attempt for Sweden now needed three more goals, and the enormity of the task was so great that it took the wind out of the Swedish metaphorical sails.  Portugal win 3-2 on the road to close out the tie by an aggregate score of 4-2.  Sweden are eliminated to make space for Portugal as the Portuguese make their way to Brasil 2014.

Goals
Portugal
Cristiano Ronaldo 50, 77, 79

Sweden
Zlatan Ibrahimovic 68, 72

Match Reports:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/24907627
http://www.france24.com/en/20131119-portugal-beats-sweden-3-0-with-ronaldo-hat-trick-world-cup-qualifier
http://www.goal.com/en-gb/match/124950/sweden-vs-portugal/report?
http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer/worldcup/story/cristiano-ronaldo-sweden-2-3-portugal-world-cup-playoff-second-leg-match-report-111913
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/worldcup2014/article-2510188/Cristiano-Ronaldo-scores-hat-trick-Zlatan-Ibrahimovic-scores--Sweden-2-Portugal-3-match-report.html
http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/preliminaries/news/newsid=2225270/index.html

Highlights:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucAd9wrw4Lg