National Team Friendly

National Stadium
Spectators: 10300 (Terracing: 7725, Seating: 2369, VIP seats: 206) U21 England's Bradley Sheehan started the match with a crisp pass. The crowd had been anticipating this game for weeks and the excitement in the stadium was easily visible. Dion Stayton stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Gabriel Karlberg's shot from short distance in the 4th minute. When U21 Sweden's Gabriel Karlberg in the 4th minute got a chance for a shot 4th didn't hesitate and placed the ball to the right of the goalie. A beautiful save bye U21 England's goalie prevented a goal. In the 11th minute, Gabriel Karlberg ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Dion Stayton was frozen by the shot and now it was 0-1. 13 minutes into the game, Jim Claesson was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. U21 Sweden's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave U21 England the free kick. Jim Claesson hit a great freekick 13 minutes into the match. When Dave Cullen fell near the penalty area in the 15th minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored U21 England's protests and gave Dave Cullen a yellow card for diving instead. The supporters of U21 Sweden booed when U21 England was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 15 match minutes in a wonderful position. Dave Cullen didn't get a good kick on the ball. An unexpectedly hard shot by Gabriel Karlberg in the 16th minute of play forced U21 England's goalkeeper Dion Stayton to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. If Bradley Sheehan had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 18th minute. The ball went over the crossbar instead. Dion Stayton didn't have a chance when a screaming shot from Gabriel Karlberg went, in the 24th minute, to the upper right corner, 0-3 was the resulting score. In the 32nd minute, Gabriel Karlberg left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The U21 Sweden fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 0-4. An unexpectedly hard shot by Gabriel Karlberg in the 36th minute of play forced U21 England's goalkeeper Dion Stayton to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. 38 minutes into the match, U21 England's goal looked a bit too open when Gabriel Karlberg came free, but Dion Stayton reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. After a rather tough play, U21 England's Martyn Oldham got a free kick in the 40th minute. 42 minutes into the match, U21 Sweden's goal looked a bit too open when Dave Cullen came free, but Gösta Bergfelt reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. U21 England's Dion Stayton played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Gabriel Karlberg in the 45th minute of play. The supporters of U21 England booed when U21 Sweden was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 46 match minutes in a wonderful position. Jim Claesson didn't get a good kick on the ball. In the 47th minute of the match Shane Groom sent off a long shot with destination to the right of the goalkeeper, but Gösta Bergfelt skillfully saved the ball. Disappointed in the 0-4 score, the home team went to the dressing room to adjust tactics for the second half.

The players of the away team seemed most concentrated when Gabriel Karlberg stepped up to make the kick off in the second half. U21 England's Dion Stayton proved his good apprehension of play when he, in the 59th minute of the match, managed to save U21 England from getting a goal against them. Gösta Bergfelt made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Howard Haylock in the 62nd minute of play. An unexpectedly hard shot by Dave Cullen in the 65th minute of play forced U21 Sweden's goalkeeper Gösta Bergfelt to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Dion Stayton was out of position in the 69 minute of play, and Gabriel Karlberg capitalized on the mistake with a soft shot into the goal. Gabriel Karlberg really showed his touch with that goal: 0-5. U21 England made a substitution. Neil Best replaced Bradley Sheehan. U21 Sweden made a substitution. Walter Sundén replaced Gabriel Karlberg. U21 Sweden's Gösta Bergfelt played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Howard Haylock in the 75th minute of play. Howard Haylock kicked well hit freekick during the 77th minute of the match. U21 England's Nicholas Connell was substituted for Martyn Oldham. U21 England's Reg West was substituted for Will Philips. A collision led to U21 England getting a freekick after 78 minutes play. Howard Haylock hit a great ball. An unexpectedly hard shot by Walter Sundén in the 81st minute of play forced U21 England's goalkeeper Dion Stayton to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Walter Sundén could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 86th minute of the match, but Dion Stayton made a huge save. In the 87th minute Howard Haylock shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Gösta Bergfelt saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. After some careless play in the U21 Sweden defense, Neil Best kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Gösta Bergfelt. The U21 Sweden fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Gösta Bergfelt should have stopped the shot. Gösta Bergfelt stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Neil Best's shot from short distance in the 94th minute. Gösta Bergfelt stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Neil Best's shot from short distance in the 95th minute. The U21 England supporters were disappointed that their team didn't take anything from the match, despite matching U21 Sweden's performance. The match ended with a win for U21 Sweden.