HOLLAND SHOWED NO MERCY TO SWEDEN
It wasn't that tough after all
Allmost filled to capacity, the Amsterdam ArenA was once again awash with bright orange.
Around 45,000 football enthusiasts, some sporting the most fantastic outfit, turned up for what was billed as one of the deciding qualifying matches for the 2012 European Championships. More than 4,000 of them had taken the plane or ferry from Sweden to watch their side, currently 32nd in the FIFA rankings, take on the World Cup runners up. And to generate as much noise as possible.
Both teams started the match with a perfect record and the ambition to snatch pole position in Group E by beating the other with attractive play. They didn’t disappoint their fans. On the contrary. As early as the fourth minute, Ibrahim Afellay bisected the Nordic centre-back, putting Klaas Jan Huntelaar into scoring position 12 metres from the goal-line: 1-0. A minute later, playmaker Wesley Sneijder hammered the ball high into the side netting. And in the 14th minute, another howitzer by the short midfielder forced a spectacular save by goalkeeper Andreas Isaksson.
Clearly shaken, the men in blue tried desperately to reach their big star, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but John Heitinga kept him well marked. The greatest chance for the Swedes came in the 23rd minute when Ola Toivonen lifted the ball over Dutch goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg and just centimetres wide. It brought back some life to the silenced blue and yellow section of the ArenA.
Rough play
The game became more physical, with the tall Swedes resorting to rougher play. An aggressive challenge by Behrang Safari left Dirk Kuyt limping off the pitch. His replacement, Jeremain Lens, brought more depth and speed into the game. The Dutch moved to up the pressure and a subtle Sneijder through-ball found leftwinger Ibrahim Afellay straying into the centre to tuck the ball into the net.
The two opening minutes to the second half saw as many chances for the Dutch. And then, suddenly and literally out of the blue, things turned nasty, with Zlatan attempting to slice his marker in two. It was certainly a bookable offence, but the French referee Stéphane Lannoy only cautioned the Sweden captain.
The Dutch responded swiftly and in style with Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scoring after some gallery play by Ibrahim Afellay and repeating the goal in reverse order three minutes later: 4-0.
Gallery play
Game over. And time for more gallery play, which of course didn't go well with the demoralised Swedes. Hot-headed Ola Toivonen blew his chances of an speedy transfer to Bayern Munich after ramming his boot into Van Bommel's back. This time the ugly foul didn't go unnoticed and a yellow card was given.
Sweden's hoped were revived when Andreas Granqvist scored, paving the way for half a dozen chances in the final 20 minutes. It was all or nothing for the Nordic team, who had come to Amsterdam to cause an upset. Their upbeat coach, Erik Hamrén, didn't tire of telling the media about his dream: to beat the Dutch. That dream turned into something of a nightmare on Tuesday night.
Holland 4 - Sweden 0
Goals:
Klaas Jan Huntelaar (4", 55")
Ibrahim Afellay (37", 58")
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