TEMPO.CO, Stockholm - Ola Toivonen's goal in the second half crowned a gutsy fight back for Sweden in a 1-1 draw with Russia. But Fabio Capello said the visitors should have easily won the Euro 2016 Group G qualifier in Stockholm’s Friends Arena on Thursday.
Russia took the lead in the 10th minute when Alexsandr Kokorin surged through, rolling the ball through the legs of Mikael Antonsson and passed goalkeeper Andreas Isaksson, Reuters reported.
Sweden wasted the perfect opportunity to equalize the score three minutes later, when Jimmy Durmaz was flipped by Igor Smolnikov inside the box. But goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev was able to thwart away Sebastian Larsson's penalty kick.
In substitute of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Toivonen equalized the score in the 49th minute by turning home Durmaz's low cross before being replaced by Johan Elmander, eight minutes later after suffering a hamstring.
With four points from their first two games, Russia leads Group G on goal difference from Montenegro and Austria, where the Swedes placed fourth with two points. Russia will next host Moldova on Sunday when Sweden welcome Liechtenstein.
The Swedes had difficulty defending the ball when in offense. However, Toivonen’s goal in the early second half promised a revival for their fortune against the favorite team in the group.
ANTARA
