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International Friendly Player Ratings: Wales 0-1 Sweden
Johan Elmander earns Sweden victory over Wales...
04-Mar-2010 4:12:00 AM
By David Middleton
WALES
Boaz Myhill - 7- The Hull City shot-stopper had little to do, but perhaps should have gathered Elmander's long-range effort instead of palming it behind for the corner which resulted in the goal.
Chris Gunter - 6 - Hassled and harried at the back, but the Nottingham Forest defender often found himself chasing shadows as the experienced Swedish midfielders got the better of him.
James Collins - 7 - Captain for the night, Collins led by example with an aggresive and competent performance from centre-back. Looked a threat from set-pieces and saw his glanced header in the first-half cleared off the line. Looked jaded late-on.
Craig Morgan - 5 - Often the weakest link in Wales' backline, the Peterborough defender never really looked comfortable in possession and put in a few sloppy forward passes.
Gareth Bale - 8 - Played like a player brimming with confidence, constantly causing his opposition full-back a headache with his rampaging runs down the channel. Showed great vision with some delightfull deliveries into the box, which saddly came to no avail.
Simon Davies - 6 - Returning after almost a year out of international duty, the Fulham man was not at his best. Struggling to find his passing range early on, he failed to run beyond the front two to cause Sweden's backline any real problems.
Ashley Williams - 6 - Produced a tough tackling display in the middle of the field but often struggled to get the ball out to the wide areas. Was at fault for Sweden's goal after switching off to let Elmander smash home.
Jack Collison - 6 - Had a frustrating night, as the West Ham United youngster failed to find his passing range. Should have done better with an early shot with his right foot and blazed over just before half-time.
David Vaughan - 6 - Gave Wales plenty of territory in their diamond midfield by seeing plenty of the ball, but failed to inject any real momentum in to the side's forward game.
Chedwyn Evans -5 - Had little to feed off in the first-half and despite his enthusiasm in chasing down defenders, the Sheffield United frontman had a game to forget and was replaced at half-time.
Simon Church - 6 - The in-form Reading striker showed great energy and strength up front but had little support. Despite getting into some fine areas he rarely had an opportunity to test Gustafasson but missed one chance when a deflected shot took him by surprise.
Substitutes
Wayne Hennessey - 7 - A half-time replacement for Myhill, the Wolverhampton Wanderers shot-stopper made two top-drawer saves, palming one round the post for a corner and tipping over a long-range effort from Larsson.
Robert Earnshaw - 7 - Looked lively going forward and was Wales' best attacking threat despite only replacing Evans at half-time. His quick feet in the box saw him fire one rasping effort at Gustafasson, who palmed to safety.
Sam Vokes - 6 - Replacing Church on 54 minutes, the Wolverhampton Wanderers striker saw little of the ball but did cause confusion in Sweden's backline from a couple of corners.
David Cotterill - 6 - Given a 30 minute run-around after coming on for the tiring Davies, the Swansea City midfielder had one moment of inspiration shortly after coming on when his turn of pace saw him escape down the left-hand channel and deliver a ferocious cross.
Lewin Nyatanga - 5 - Looked laboured at the back after replacing the inpressive Bale, he never really got to grips with Sweden's more experienced internationals and found himself trying to hold on to Svensson and Larsson's coat-tails.
Andrew Crofts - 5 - Replaced Collison in the centre but was lacklustre and failed to compete. Having not made an international appearance for 20 months, his first touch let him down on occassions.
SWEDEN
Eddie Gustafasson - 6 - Although a spectator for most of the game, Sweden's back-up goalkeeper did produce a top-quality save to deny Earnshaw in the second-half from close-range. His kicking leaves a lot to be desired though and he was often nervy with his handling and clearances.
Sebastian Larsson - 7 - Used as a makeshift right-back, the Birmingham City player had a tough evening against Bale but his overlapping runs down the channel did harm Wales. Bent a free kick marginally off target in the opening half hour.
Olof Mellberg - 7 - The former Aston Villa and Juventus powerhouse centre-back was the proverbial rock at the back and was rarely flustered. Hacked Collins' header off the line early on and lost his cool only once after unleashing a torrent of abuse at the referee following a late challenge.
Daniel Majstorovic - 7 - Never beaten in the air, the centre-back was assured and composed in possession. Powerful and domineering, the AEK player had a stroll in the park.
Behrang Safari - 6 - Looked dependable at right-back and swept in some dangerous crosses on occassions. Bombed forward down the channel, penning Wales back but had the pace to get back when Wales launched a rare counter-attack.
Christian Wilhelmsson - 8 - Caused real trouble for Wales all evening and put in a wonderous cross which Toivonen converted only for it to be wrongly disallowed for off-side. Showed his calibre with a masterclass in midfield.
Anders Svensson - 7 - Lasted the duration and although he looked jaded in the final 10 minutes, his perfomance was rock solid as you would expect. Broke up Wales' play through the centre on countless occassions.
Kim Kallstrom - 7 - Great vision and orchestrated wave upon wave of Sweden's offensive moves. Another impressive display, he looked like he was operating in only second gear at times, and performed some sublime one-twos with Wilhelmsson.
Rasmus Elm - 6 - Performed for an hour but was a real handful for Wales with his quick feet and excellent work-rate. Covered a lot of grass and delivered a lot of decent crosses into the penalty area from out wide.
Johan Elmander - 8 - Had a lot of possession in the hole and showed fantastic awareness and technique to score the opener just before half-time. His rifled effort was unstoppable after he peeled away unmarked in the penalty area at a corner.
Ola Toivonen - 7 - Missed a half chance early on by putting his header off target, but did have the ball in the net with a header which should have been allowed in the first half only to be wrongly ruled offside.
Substitutes
Tobias Hyson - 6 - Replacing Elm just before the hour mark, Hyson just ticked over in the midfield to keep possession for Sweden. Rarely looked like losing the ball, but didn't have the same spark as Elm.
Pontus Wernbloom - 5 - Had 30 minutes to impress after replacing the match winner Elmander and had two half chances. The AZ frontman led the line well but couldn't match Elmander's technique.
Oscar Wendt - 5 - An able deputy for Safari on the hour mark, despite letting Wales wingers get one or two crosses into the box from down his side after just coming on, the Copenhagen left-back put in a solid display.
Mikael Lustig - 5 - Replacing the impressive Wilhelmsson was never going to be easy with 15 minutes reamaining, but the youngster showed his quick feet and had an ambitous effort blaze over late-on.
Viktor Elm - N/A - Had barely enought time to make an impression with just nine minutes on the field after replacing Kallstrom. Showed glimpses of neat footwork in and around the box though.
Boaz Myhill - 7- The Hull City shot-stopper had little to do, but perhaps should have gathered Elmander's long-range effort instead of palming it behind for the corner which resulted in the goal.
Chris Gunter - 6 - Hassled and harried at the back, but the Nottingham Forest defender often found himself chasing shadows as the experienced Swedish midfielders got the better of him.
James Collins - 7 - Captain for the night, Collins led by example with an aggresive and competent performance from centre-back. Looked a threat from set-pieces and saw his glanced header in the first-half cleared off the line. Looked jaded late-on.
Craig Morgan - 5 - Often the weakest link in Wales' backline, the Peterborough defender never really looked comfortable in possession and put in a few sloppy forward passes.
Gareth Bale - 8 - Played like a player brimming with confidence, constantly causing his opposition full-back a headache with his rampaging runs down the channel. Showed great vision with some delightfull deliveries into the box, which saddly came to no avail.
Simon Davies - 6 - Returning after almost a year out of international duty, the Fulham man was not at his best. Struggling to find his passing range early on, he failed to run beyond the front two to cause Sweden's backline any real problems.
Ashley Williams - 6 - Produced a tough tackling display in the middle of the field but often struggled to get the ball out to the wide areas. Was at fault for Sweden's goal after switching off to let Elmander smash home.
Jack Collison - 6 - Had a frustrating night, as the West Ham United youngster failed to find his passing range. Should have done better with an early shot with his right foot and blazed over just before half-time.
David Vaughan - 6 - Gave Wales plenty of territory in their diamond midfield by seeing plenty of the ball, but failed to inject any real momentum in to the side's forward game.
Chedwyn Evans -5 - Had little to feed off in the first-half and despite his enthusiasm in chasing down defenders, the Sheffield United frontman had a game to forget and was replaced at half-time.
Simon Church - 6 - The in-form Reading striker showed great energy and strength up front but had little support. Despite getting into some fine areas he rarely had an opportunity to test Gustafasson but missed one chance when a deflected shot took him by surprise.
Substitutes
Wayne Hennessey - 7 - A half-time replacement for Myhill, the Wolverhampton Wanderers shot-stopper made two top-drawer saves, palming one round the post for a corner and tipping over a long-range effort from Larsson.
Robert Earnshaw - 7 - Looked lively going forward and was Wales' best attacking threat despite only replacing Evans at half-time. His quick feet in the box saw him fire one rasping effort at Gustafasson, who palmed to safety.
Sam Vokes - 6 - Replacing Church on 54 minutes, the Wolverhampton Wanderers striker saw little of the ball but did cause confusion in Sweden's backline from a couple of corners.
David Cotterill - 6 - Given a 30 minute run-around after coming on for the tiring Davies, the Swansea City midfielder had one moment of inspiration shortly after coming on when his turn of pace saw him escape down the left-hand channel and deliver a ferocious cross.
Lewin Nyatanga - 5 - Looked laboured at the back after replacing the inpressive Bale, he never really got to grips with Sweden's more experienced internationals and found himself trying to hold on to Svensson and Larsson's coat-tails.
Andrew Crofts - 5 - Replaced Collison in the centre but was lacklustre and failed to compete. Having not made an international appearance for 20 months, his first touch let him down on occassions.
SWEDEN
Eddie Gustafasson - 6 - Although a spectator for most of the game, Sweden's back-up goalkeeper did produce a top-quality save to deny Earnshaw in the second-half from close-range. His kicking leaves a lot to be desired though and he was often nervy with his handling and clearances.
Sebastian Larsson - 7 - Used as a makeshift right-back, the Birmingham City player had a tough evening against Bale but his overlapping runs down the channel did harm Wales. Bent a free kick marginally off target in the opening half hour.
Olof Mellberg - 7 - The former Aston Villa and Juventus powerhouse centre-back was the proverbial rock at the back and was rarely flustered. Hacked Collins' header off the line early on and lost his cool only once after unleashing a torrent of abuse at the referee following a late challenge.
Daniel Majstorovic - 7 - Never beaten in the air, the centre-back was assured and composed in possession. Powerful and domineering, the AEK player had a stroll in the park.
Behrang Safari - 6 - Looked dependable at right-back and swept in some dangerous crosses on occassions. Bombed forward down the channel, penning Wales back but had the pace to get back when Wales launched a rare counter-attack.
Christian Wilhelmsson - 8 - Caused real trouble for Wales all evening and put in a wonderous cross which Toivonen converted only for it to be wrongly disallowed for off-side. Showed his calibre with a masterclass in midfield.
Anders Svensson - 7 - Lasted the duration and although he looked jaded in the final 10 minutes, his perfomance was rock solid as you would expect. Broke up Wales' play through the centre on countless occassions.
Kim Kallstrom - 7 - Great vision and orchestrated wave upon wave of Sweden's offensive moves. Another impressive display, he looked like he was operating in only second gear at times, and performed some sublime one-twos with Wilhelmsson.
Rasmus Elm - 6 - Performed for an hour but was a real handful for Wales with his quick feet and excellent work-rate. Covered a lot of grass and delivered a lot of decent crosses into the penalty area from out wide.
Johan Elmander - 8 - Had a lot of possession in the hole and showed fantastic awareness and technique to score the opener just before half-time. His rifled effort was unstoppable after he peeled away unmarked in the penalty area at a corner.
Ola Toivonen - 7 - Missed a half chance early on by putting his header off target, but did have the ball in the net with a header which should have been allowed in the first half only to be wrongly ruled offside.
Substitutes
Tobias Hyson - 6 - Replacing Elm just before the hour mark, Hyson just ticked over in the midfield to keep possession for Sweden. Rarely looked like losing the ball, but didn't have the same spark as Elm.
Pontus Wernbloom - 5 - Had 30 minutes to impress after replacing the match winner Elmander and had two half chances. The AZ frontman led the line well but couldn't match Elmander's technique.
Oscar Wendt - 5 - An able deputy for Safari on the hour mark, despite letting Wales wingers get one or two crosses into the box from down his side after just coming on, the Copenhagen left-back put in a solid display.
Mikael Lustig - 5 - Replacing the impressive Wilhelmsson was never going to be easy with 15 minutes reamaining, but the youngster showed his quick feet and had an ambitous effort blaze over late-on.
Viktor Elm - N/A - Had barely enought time to make an impression with just nine minutes on the field after replacing Kallstrom. Showed glimpses of neat footwork in and around the box though.
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Sweden - Serbia
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Sweden 2-1 Serbia
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Sweden 1-1 Serbia
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