National Team Friendly

National Stadium
Spectators: 10300 (Terracing: 7725, Seating: 2369, VIP seats: 206) Petter Hökqvist made the kick off and thus started the match. Tobías Gunnarsson blasted a shot towards the goal in the 4th minute, but the shot hit the top of the crossbar and went out without Stellan Drake having to make a save. 4 minutes into the match, U21 Sweden's goal looked a bit too open when Tobías Gunnarsson came free, but Stellan Drake reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Peter Björkman came free with the goalkeeper in the 5th minute of the match, and shot straight on target. The shot was a little too simple and Manuel Espagnet could save by the left post. The audience thought a goal was coming when Martin Olofsson got free with Manuel Espagnet in the 12th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. 14 minutes into the game, Noël Chiche was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. U21 France's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave U21 Sweden the free kick. In the 13th minute, one of U21 France:s players had the ball in front of the goal but got pushed and fell. The referee felt it was an obvious case and blew a penalty for U21 France. After some careless play in the U21 France defense, Petter Hökqvist kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Manuel Espagnet. The U21 France fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Manuel Espagnet should have stopped the shot. Tobías Gunnarsson sent away a hard shot on goal in the 18th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Martin Olofsson could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 20th minute of the match, but Manuel Espagnet made a huge save. U21 Sweden were awarded a corner in the 22th minute after U21 France's defender lost control of the ball, allowing it to roll out over the line. Orvar Hafström took the corner. After taking down the ball on U21 Sweden's corner Orvar Hafström fired away a hard shot, but the defenders efficiently covered the most dangerous angles and Manuel Espagnet quite easily take care of the ball. U21 Sweden's Stellan Drake played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Tobías Gunnarsson in the 27th minute of play. In the 38th minute, U21 Sweden's Petter Hökqvist ran free of his marker and smoothly shot the ball into the goal behind Manuel Espagnet. Manuel Espagnet yelled at his defense, as they had left him out to dry. 3-0. Tobías Gunnarsson struck a weak shot in the 42nd minute. Stellan Drake didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for U21 France. The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Lars Jens during the 43rd minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. The audience thought a goal was coming when Peter Björkman got free with Manuel Espagnet in the 47th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell J.P. Kapar to make the kick off. 51 minutes into the match, U21 France's goal looked a bit too open when Petter Hökqvist came free, but Manuel Espagnet reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. An unexpectedly hard shot by Petter Hökqvist in the 52nd minute of play forced U21 France's goalkeeper Manuel Espagnet to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. 56 minutes into the game, Charles-Emmanuel Camilleri was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. U21 France's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave U21 Sweden the free kick. U21 Sweden made a substitution. Romeo Beckham Jr replaced Arvid Carlsson. Charles-Emmanuel Camilleri kicked well hit freekick during the 58th minute of the match. André Ooijer took a chance and fired a shot far from the goal in the 59th minute, but it turned out to be a dangerous situation for Manuel Espagnet. U21 France's goalkeeper really had to stretch himself to stop the ball from crossing the goal line. Manuel Espagnet showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Peter Björkman in the 60th minute of the match. The supporters of U21 France booed when U21 Sweden was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 61 match minutes in a wonderful position. Örjan Igelström didn't get a good kick on the ball. U21 France made a substitution. Florent Blanc replaced Ulysse Houssais. A collision led to U21 Sweden getting a freekick after 62 minutes play. Örjan Igelström hit a great ball. In the 67th minute, Salomon Jestin ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Stellan Drake was frozen by the shot and now it was 3-1. Stellan Drake showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Rick Grimes, who was totally free with the ball in the 71st minute. An unexpectedly hard shot by Rick Grimes in the 73rd minute of play forced U21 Sweden's goalkeeper Stellan Drake to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. After 74 minutes, J.P. Kapar made it 3-2 with a short kick to the right side. U21 Sweden's Stellan Drake tried to save the shot but he was too slow in reacting to the shot. The supporters of U21 Sweden booed when U21 France was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 82 match minutes in a wonderful position. Florent Blanc didn't get a good kick on the ball. Orvar Hafström took a chance and fired a shot far from the goal in the 83rd minute, but it turned out to be a dangerous situation for Manuel Espagnet. U21 France's goalkeeper really had to stretch himself to stop the ball from crossing the goal line. J.P. Kapar could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 91st minute of the match, but Stellan Drake made a huge save. Ingemar Stålman hit a great freekick 93 minutes into the match. In the 95th minute Sven Giöck shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Manuel Espagnet saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. It was no surprise that this one had ended in a win for the home team. U21 Sweden had played much better football throughout.