Euro 2008 LiveBlog: Russia vs Sweden

GROUP D	June 18th, 2045 CET, Innsbruck (Austria)
Russia 2 VS Sweden 0 Pavlyuchenko 24′, Arshavin 50′

FULLTIME And this is not the same Russia that faced Spain. Watch out Oranje. The two best counterattacks going up against one another. Should be fantastic for the neutrals.

93′ One more last gasp attempt for Sweden..nothing.

92′ Elmander fires what may be the best shot on goal all game. Saved by Akinfeev.

91′ Uh oh, Arshavin’s down after a quality run towards goal. Back up.

89′ Pavlyuchenko off for Bystrov, Hiddink’s least favorite player against Spain.

88′ Arhsavin 1v1 with Isaksson, looked offside, but it’s saved. This one’s all over. Sweden needs to get younger and less reliant upon Zlatan, that simple.

86′ Long goal kick cleared out by Russia. Sweden getting virtually no quality chances here.

84′ Long cross is met by no one in the box for Sweden.

82′ Yet another Russian counter and another high quality fo chance on goal. Sweden is playing right into Russia’s breadbasket here and they don’t have any other choice.

81′ Sweden needs a Turkish miracle here. Or maybe just the fountain of youth. Russian counter….Pavlyuchenko heads a brilliant cross into the arms of Isaksson.

79′ Russian counter….off the post! A little bit of head tennis by the Swedish goal there by Russia. How did they not get #3?

78′ Another old man, Marcus Allback, comes on.

Swedish free kick from range……Zlatan….too high.

Kolodin yellow

76′ So how many club teams do you think will be dispatching scouts to Russia after this one? Sweden looks old and in need of some vibrant youth, but Russia’s been impressive.

75′ Kallstrom hammers a shot from deep, just wide.

74′ Saenko sends a cross through the middle, met on the left….Swedish countrt…..Elmander cross….Zlatan can’t control it, Swedish throw eventually.

72′ Solid work by Zlatan in the corner…..Swedish setup in the box not getting the service they need. Nice cross by Larsson but Zlatan’s header is hit weakly.

70′ Larsson hammers Akinfeev going in for a header. Free kick Russia.

69′ Russian free kick from the touch line…audacious attempt by Zhirkov there and it damn near went in.

68′ Russia wins a corner. They’re getting more possession here. Might be time for some fresh legs from Lars here.

66′ WOW. Clinical finish attempted by Stoor on his own goal, Isaksson has to make the save. The wheels are rumblin’…

Bilyaletdinoc off for Saenko.

65′ Russia playing with possession here….Arshavin gets yellow.

63′ Oh Freddie….darting through the Russian defense right there but foiled by the last man. He’s turning back the clock right now (not that I’ve seen much of him at West Ham this year).

61′ Ljungberg showing some serious pace there. Old Freddie. Sweden’s best chance yet is a corner but Mellberg’s header goes well too high.

60′ Sweden with possession…crosshot is bounced out by Akinfeev….Russia not allowing any quality chances here.

59′ Russian cross saved easily by Isaksson.

57′ Larsson tries an overhead ball after the free kick but it’s saved easily by Akinfeev.

56′ Another Russian counter slices through Sweden but the final ball is foiled - Semak yellow.

54′ Sweden looking a little frustrated right now. Still a half hour plus of football left….Daniel Andersson off for Kallstrom. Have to wonder why he isn’t starting some of these.

53′ Zlatan back up. He won’t be coming off this game unless it’s really bad.

51′ And now Zlatan’s down. Getting worse for Sweden.

50′ GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL ARSHAVIN. What a run and pass from Zhirkov. This team is one to be feared.

49′ Elmander couldn’t hear the whistle for offside and gets a yellow….terrible.

48′ Russian corner here…Zyryanov takes the corner down and Pavlychenko receives the pass but it’s cleared out.

47′ Lotsa nothin’ so far this half.

And we’re off….

HALFTIME Russia will certainly be happier going into the break, but Sweden has responded well and actually have begun to mount a serious threat to Russia.

45′ Just a minute of stoppage……Nilsson with a clean break on Akinfeev but he cuts down the angle well and it’s a Swedish corner….Russian goalkick.

43′ What a chance by Ljungberg, saved by Akinfeev. Nice little 1-2 between Freddie and Zlatan. A little more hope going into the break.

42′ Nicely threaded ball by Elmander there. Sweden finally getting some attacking continuity here. But Russia is looking very dangerous on the counter.

41′ Two fisted by Akinfeev….ball falls again in the box with Igor out of his net and luckily he is able to get the bouncing ball. Almost a 1-1 dagger there.

40′ Kolorov fouls Zlatan, free kick…..wins a corner. They need to use these set pieces to gain some momentum.

39′ Ljungberg running through the Russian D like it’s 2001. Wins a throw….cleared out.

38′ Another terrible pass from Elmander. Yikes.

36′ Andreas Isaksson is being forced to play like Lev Yashin here. Would Lars make a sub right now? Because they’re in danger of putting this game into mere formality mode by the half.

Pavlyuchenko off the bar! Wow, nearly 2-0 here. Mother Russia is eating Sweden’s defense for breakfast. Isaksson also saved the rebound well.

35′ ESPN’s crowd feed goes out…hey, they’re not in Bristol, CT at all!

34′ Elmander really not having a wonderful game here. Though you’d be hard pressed to say anyone on Sweden is.

Luckily, as we saw against Greece, they have the equivalent of the knockout punch in Zlatan.

33′ Zlatan’s beak is Sweden’s 12th man. He and Giorgio Chiellini should have a Schnoz-Off.

31′ Sweden set up well but Elmander couldn’t find a teammate. And here comes Russia….they decide to set up show in Sweden’s half now.

30′ Larsson dummies to no one. They need something, anything to work some magic. Perhaps Kallstrom at the half?

28′ Bilyaletdinov with a shot on goal saved easily by Isaksson. Russia really looking like the better team here. Welcome to the world of Guus Hiddink.

25′ Could this be what Sweden needs? They have not looked like scoring whatsoever…and there. Larsson heads a ball just off the crossbar. What a turn of the head. Brilliant work by the old man.

Beautiful work from Russia. Zyryanov runs onto the ball, passes into Anyukov who then finds the open Pavlychenio, requiring nothing more that a low hard ball on goal.

23′ GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL Pavlyuchenko. That was inevitable.

21′ Isaakson has to poke the ball over the bar after a beauty of a shot from Arshavin. WOW> What a volley from Zhirkov. Beathiful, beautiful technique. Ball in the air from the corner, struck by Zhirkov and it goes inches wide of the post. Quite pleasing on the eye from Russia here.

19′ Zhirkov runs onto a destined goal kick for Sweden and turns it into a cross, which becomes a Russian corner. What an asset he is….corner cleared out to Zhirkov who fires a shot well off.

18′ Russia playing some beautiful passing football here. Sweden has the beautiful women in the crowd. Edge: Sweden.

16′ Here comes Zlatan…Freddie’s cross a bit too strong for Larsson. Lovely little dynamic from the crowd here…whenever Arshavin and Zlatan touch the ball everyone gets excited.

15′ Pavlyuchenko absolutely hammers a cross into the middle but Bilyaletdinov’s touch isn’t enough to stop the speeding bullet.

14′ Free kick Russia, little bit of sparring at this point. It’s clear Russia is pushing with purpose though, and they damn well should.

12′ Apologies, internet was sputtering and had to reset the modem, which is strange because today’s the first sunny day we’ve had after the world looked to be ending the last two weeks.

Pavlyuchenko with a yellow in between.

8′ Russia already infinitely more dangerous with Arshavin.

6′ Zhirkov with more runs down that left side. Stoor is going to have a miserable day. And here comes Arshavin. Sublime skill. Clusterfuck in the box couldn’t get anything done for Russia.

3′ Long ball played out for a Russian throw in and they eventually wind up in possession before winning a corner.

1′ Early free kick for Sweden. Zlatan just attempted a bullshit try on goal, a back flick over his head; instead he kicked Ignashevich in the head and he’s a bit woozy. Probably should’ve been a yellow on the high boot.

KICKOFF

Alright, Superwoman costume on, I’m here. Torbisnki and Saenko are the only two in the lineups on a yellow.

So Arshavin’s back and straight in the team now his two game suspension is over. Have a look at the Russian no. 10 in action:

Get a look at our Andre Arshavin Euro 2008 Player Profile here. Featuring a totally natural and not at all posed for photo of him and his missus.

Starting lineups:

Russia: Akinfeev, Kolodine, Ignashevitch, Anyukov, Zyryanov, Zhirkov, Semshov, Semak, Bilyaletdinov, Pavluchenko, Arshavin.

Sweden: Isaksson, Stoor, Nilsson, Mellberg, Hansson, Svensson, Ljungberg, Andersson, Larsson, Ibrahimovic, Elmander.

20 mins til kickoff, Daryl here, I’ll fill you in on pre-game stuff, then Chris will swoop in at the last minute for the LiveBlog. A bit like Superman, but without the too-tight onesy (we assume.)

Here’s the situation: Russia needs a win, Sweden needs a draw. Simple as that.