MADRID, 14 Nov. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Spanish soccer team will meet Sweden again this Sunday for the third time in five months, a rival they have faced 17 times in their history. We review five of those matches against the Swedes.
1. The first, in the Olympic Games and the famous cry of Belauste. The first of the duels between Spaniards and Swedes took place in a special setting such as the Olympic Games. They were in Antwerp in 1920, in which the Spain of Ricardo Zamora, Sabino or Pichichi reached silver in a unique repechage of three games, the first against Sweden, which they beat 2-1 with goals from Belauste and Acedo . The first, according to the chronicles, was achieved after shouting the famous: “To me, the squad, Sabino, who ran over them all!”.
2. The debut of Iker Casillas. Spaniards and Swedes continued to face each other and except in the 1978 World Cup with Spain’s 1-0 victory, almost always in friendlies, one of them, at the gates of Euro 2000 in Goteborg, which meant the international debut of Iker Casillas, who played the first of their 167 games against Sweden. The Madrilenian left in the second half for José Francisco Molina and could not avoid the equalizer to one of Nilsson.
3. Solna puts Luis on the ropes. On October 7, 2006, the Spanish team suffered a defeat in the Swedish town of Solna that put them on the ropes, but that would serve as a catapult for their most glorious era. Spain, in its first match without a reference like Raúl González and with Casillas, Sergio Ramos, Puyol, Xavi, Iniesta or Villa, fell 2-0 and remained in a delicate situation in the qualifying phase for Euro 2008 and with Luis Aragonés very questioned. The ‘Sabio de Hortaleza’ endured and from there the ‘tiki taka’ team was born that would win the next three great trophies and that would not lose again in a qualifying phase until 2016.
4. Villa’s goal in the last breath. And the first of those trophies was Euro 2008, where Spain and Sweden met again after qualifying in the first group. Torres made it 1-0 from a corner kick, but Ibrahimovic leveled shortly after. When the game came to an end, in the 90th minute, a long ball hit David Villa who knew how to keep his cool against the Swedish defenders to make it 2-1.
5. The last one in La Cartuja. On June 14, the Seville stadium witnessed the debut of the Spanish team at EURO 2020 against the Swedes, who showed their rockiness and were able to thwart this premiere with a goalless draw. Spain signed a good first 45 minutes, but could not in the second half with a rival who enjoyed two very clear chances so that the upset had been greater.