As part of the test matches of the national teams shortly before the World Cup finals on Saturday evening in the Friends Arena of Solna comes to the Scandinavia derby between Sweden and Denmark. Both teams finished second in their qualifying groups and had to book the ticket for Russia via the play-offs. Already 106 times the two neighbors met in international matches. Sweden is ahead with 47 to 40 wins. 19 times it was time to draw. In the last five international matches, there was only one victory for the Swedes.
There was already a match between the two teams in Abu Dhabi in January. Sweden won 1-0. The international game year had not started well for the Danes: in Abu Dhabi, they lost two friendly matches against Sweden and Jordan in January. However, if these two bankruptcies are ignored during the training camp in the capital of the United Arab Emirates, which in any case are not part of the official FIFA statistic, the Danes have a great international record: then “Danish Dynamite” has been without defeat for 13 matches , Is a tip worth it for the guest?
Sweden:
Sweden finished second in France in World Cup qualifying Group A. With 26 goals the “Tre Kronor” had scored the most hits of the group. The Scandinavians conceded only nine goals. At home against the Netherlands it was only enough for a draw. In both France, Bulgaria and Oranje defeats prevailed. The remaining six qualifying games were won. The team of coach Janne Andersson could inflict the only defeat in the qualifiers at home to the French. In the end, the Swedes left the Netherlands in Group A but only because of the better goal difference behind them. As second in the group had the yellow-blue in the play-offs against Italy ran. After a 1-0 home win in the first leg handed the Scandinavians a 0-0 in Italy in the second leg to progress.
In Group F, Sweden will face Germany, Mexico and South Korea at the World Cup. For Sweden, it is the first participation in a World Cup finals after 12 years. After the game against Denmark, the Swedes test one week later against Peru. With Emil Forsberg (RB Leipzig), Albin Ekdal (Hamburger SV) and Ludwig Augustinsson (Werder Bremen) are three Bundesliga professionals in the squad of Sweden. None of the 23 nominated players earned their money in the Swedish Allsvenskan. The strengths of the Blagult are certainly the unity and the team spirit. With captain Andreas Granqvist of FK Krasnodar and Victor Lindelöf of Manchester United, the defense is also the showpiece of the Andersson team. So you could prevail against Italy in the play-offs. The 2018 World Cup is also the first tournament without superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who had declared his retirement from the national team after the European Championship in 2016.
Denmark:
Denmark were second in their own qualifying relay, the group E. Here, the Northmen had to let only the Polish first. In the ten games there were two draws, each against the Romanians. In Poland and at home to Montenegro “Danish Dynamite” suffered bankruptcies. There were also six victories. In the ten qualifying games, the team of national coach Age Hareide conceded eight goals, which was the best value in the group E. In the play-offs, the Danes got to do it with Ireland. After a 0-0 in Copenhagen Denmark won the second leg in Ireland clearly 5-1. Great hopes lie on Christian Eriksen of Tottenham Hotspur. The midfield man was with 11 goals third best scorer of the European World Cup qualifiers behind Robert Lewandowski and Cristiano Ronaldo.
At the World Cup the Danes meet in Group C on France, Australia and Peru. In the provisional squad of the Danish national football team for the World Cup stand with Jannik Vestergaard (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Thomas Delaney (Werder Bremen) and Yussuf Poulsen (RB Leipzig) also three Bundesliga professionals. Denmark, European champion from 1992, had last missed both the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 European Championships. Coach Hareide has to give up on striker Nicklas Bendtner against Sweden, whose participation in the World Cup is still uncertain. After the game against the Swedes, the Danes are still testing against Mexico on 9 June.
PREDICTION: Over 1.5 goals @ 1.43
