Nations League 2023: Drama!

Rumors of several fans freezing to death at the Norway v. Portugal game have been greatly exaggerated. No, the truth is that we all hiding in shame. Sweden did not do itself proud this tournament. Who would have guessed that Denmark would be the highest-placed finishers! No Scandinavia in the Olympics! Shocking!

On the other hand, I suppose we can have a chuckle at Team England, who looked right confused. Are there conspiracy threories positing that the Netherlands bribed Belgium? There must be, somewhere. ”C’mon, you’ve lost anyway, just let us have ooooone more teeny tiny goal…”

 

Yeah, well, when Sweden crashes down to Group B in February by tying and then losing to, oh, let’s guess Ireland (because those I-teams are tricky), we will revisit this conversation. Meanwhile Italy sits smugly qualified for the Euros and can have a siesta.

(at least, according to my understanding of Uefa’s absolutely totally crystal clear explanatory video)

 

This. Is. So. Stupid.

 

Sigh. It is too depressing for jokes, and besides, this little section seems to have powerful jinx mojo, so I better not say anything.

 

Well, I don't know if others share this feeling, but I for one was very uncomfortable with them being ranked #1, for the jinx problem/potential if nothing else. Not to mention the inevitable high expectations of the fans.

I truly do believe that, at the moment, if Sweden's A-team is fighting fit, everyone healthy, everyone at peak mental alertness, etc., that they could beat anyone (yes even Spain – the loss in the World Cup was a total mental lapse). But it is so hard to get into that condition – and perhaps impossible to maintain – that this ideal just doesn't matter much in the real world.

I am hardly the first one at these boards to type "Rankings are meaningless" and I really wish FIFA would stop its bull-hockey.

 

Fortunately, Sweden is not playing Spain tomorrow, because it ain't the A-team that will be taking the field, just like last time: No Rolfö, no Eriksson, no Ilestedt, no Hurtig, no Blomqvist, no Asllani (they say she's avstängd, but no one says why), there's not even Sandberg for heaven's sake. Rubensson doubtful.

And who cares anyway? Not Bosnia-Hercegovina, it seems. Kickoff is at 1pm on a workday, the stadium is a small training facility, and Zenica's pollution is so bad that people are being advised not to exercise outdoors. Also, no major broadcasters will be there.

On the plus side, Team Sweden is taking along young Monica Jusu Bah, who is wicked speedy and has been lots of fun to watch with BK Häcken this past season, and it would be great to see her get her first cap tomorrow (or maybe even better in Stockholm next week). Maybe, just maybe if the score is Sweden 8 – B-H 0 at the half – which is should be, durn it, even with the B+ team!

 

That's great to hear! I have read that she's doing okay there, though unexpectedly (to herself, I mean) frustrated by not understanding the language. "Frustration is the first step on the path to language knowledge, grasshopper."

In the cold morning light of Game Day I am perfectly horrified that I wrote this. So I would like to point out to the Fates and the Rivalry Forum Jinx Gods that the above was written only as a description of an entirely hypothetical situation in which it is imaginable that a young player might get her first cap. It was in no way a prediction, expectation, or distant hope. I am painfully aware that Team Sweden, unused to playing in February ffs, is perfectly capable of disgracing itself in some way against Bosnia-Hercegovina.

 

Hurrah for the same Janogy, who scores early in the 6th minute after some nice combination play with Blackstenius' long pass in from the left flank to Rytting Kaneryd who, from the touch line just by the right of the goal, heads it back to Janogy in the center a meter from the goal line, who in turn heads it in without much fuss. Should we be concerned that BH have dangerous chance three minutes later? Let's not think about it too much.

I wish to do a small correction r.e. the previous post and Janogy and language. Having now seen the interview with her myself, instead of relying on a brief report in a different newspaper. She is frustrated, yes, but not really whining about Italian, as I might have made it seem, but instead says things like that it's fun to learn new words. So that's nice.

 

Well thank heavens that Sweden has managed to beat Bosnia-Hercegovina twice in a week, with scores of 0-5 and 5-0, which is pleasing to those who value symmetry. And, if you think about it, who among us doesn't value symmetry – it is short step from symmetry to justice.

It was fun to see so many (sadly ex-)Hammarby players on what is practically their home turf last night, with Vinberg especially impressing – can't say enough about Janogy, of course – and Uppsala also had a good evening, with Björn getting some time (I had thought she was slightly injured for some reason), Angeldal in terrific form, and what looked like the entire extended Sembrant clan making the long difficult commute (the trains have been dicey this winter) (and oh yeah Sembrant almost scored, or at least she was mad at herself for not).

And a big hurrah for Jusu Bah coming on somewhere around the 80th minute. If she stays healthy, and if she steadies with age in the ways that inexperienced 20-year-olds often do, and if they figure out how to use her best, sometime in the hopefully-not-too-distant-future I will be bragging that I personally (along with 11,000 other people) saw her very first touch as a national team player. Warming up on the sidelines, she looked like a little tiny rocket ship; her first touches in the game didn't go particularly well, and I'm glad she got this chance to perhaps get her nerves settled a bit.

 

What fresh hell is this?

(And does it make sense to complain about rationally discuss Euro 2025 qualifiers in this thread?)

 

And so a qualifier – a qualifier – featuring England v. Sweden begins. Oj, joj, joj. I'm sorry it's not the final the the full tournament but still – revenge for the last Euros! (Which Sweden lost 0-4, as we might recall, though I myself was halfway to Finland at the time, which sounds like a metaphor for something.)

This sounds like a blues song. "Taking' th' nordbane to Trondheim... my keister didn' think it was all fine..."