#yes this about yann sommer

[koalemosz]

god why are goalkeepers so sexy

[miroslavcloset]

Thomas would only kiss Manu = true! But which Bayern players would YOU kiss or definitely not kiss?

OOOOOHH this is the ask i've always wanted pls send more I'm begging

*clears throat* Ok, so. Long post under the cut and yes, I rated ALL bayern players in terms of would or wouldn't kiss, enjoy.

Manuel Neuer = 100% Would kiss and hug and tell him he's doing a good job Yann Sommer= 100% Would kiss. He has that... idk, that laid-back guy energy and ofc the good looks, he's like a guilty pleasure to me Sven Ulreich= Ulle is ok, but neh, he is a little bit like that weird uncle you never talk to Johannes Schenk= Only in the forehead, he's still baby Matthijs de Ligt= Yup. Actually, I find him more adorable than sexy, but I still would kiss. Dayot Upamecano= He is so committed to the team, I want to kiss him in the forehead. Lucas Hernández= Never. Next Daley Blind= Don't know him enough, sorry :c João Cancelo= 75% Would kiss, I loved the cheeky attitude he brings with him lol Benjamin Pavard= 100% Would kiss GIMME THE BENJI I'll show the french boi how the latinas kiss <3 Noussair Mazraoui= He has the looks and i like that, would kiss. Josip Stanisic= He looks really good and also would give him a kiss bc I'm worried about his bloody nose from today's match :c Bouna Sarr= Don't know him enough, sorry :c Joshua Kimmich= 100% gimme gimme I ADORE how feral this man is, I want 10 Joshuas for myself, thanks. Leon Goretzka= The looks this man brings BOI i would grate cheese in those abs, 100% would kiss, and more lol Ryan Gravenberch= Don't know him enough, sorry :c Jamal Musiala= Only in the forehead, he's the team's baby and also Thomas' spiritual son, so not happening, I still love him tho BAMBI <3 Paul Wanner= Only in the forehead, he's baby, next. Arijon Ibrahimovic= Only in the forehead, Ari is baby, next. Sadio Mané= 100% would kiss I LOVE him, I would also hug him for a looooong time gimme sadio hugs please Leroy Sané= This man is so fineeeeeeeeeee I love him, and his laugh is the cutest thing ever 100% would kiss Serge Gnabry= You don't understand, this is one of the finest pieces of ass in the whole team, his fashion sense on point and 100% would kiss Kingsley Coman= Never. Next. Thomas Müller= This man... I would, kiss, hug, climb like a tree and never let go. 10000% would marry and devote myself to him. Also would bite one of his skinny thighs Mathys Tel= Only in the forehead, he's baby, next. Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting= This man is so sexy, help 100% would kiss and more

[rainbowsandgoals]

oooooh yes so... whats your favorite animal (important), whats your favorite ice cream flavor and whats your dream xi ! (and how are you <3)

clara <33 ty for the questions sunshine :) (ok so I’m really good, I almost spent the whole day outside bc it's so sunny here!! hope you're doing well too <3) now for the answers:

favorite animal: cats or foxes :)

favorite ice cream flavor: difficult but i'm gonna say oreo & melon

dream xi (I hope you didn’t mean bayern players only bc I'm gonna go with bundesliga players I like and !!! I'm not a tactical mastermind (+ I’m tired ksjdjffd) so I don’t really know if this is a proper line-up, I would just love to see how they'd do together for vibes) : Manu / Kevin Trapp / Yann Sommer as the goalie, Nico Schlotterbeck, Niki, David Raum / Christian Günter, Benji, Leon, Josh, Serge, Vincenzo Grifo, Thomas, Lewy (I also kinda wanna add Bambi, Jonas Hofmann, Flo Wirtz and skill-wise Nkunku but idk how they’re on the bench ig jsjsjj)

-> ask me 3 things you want to know about me

[football-and-fanfics]

You're writing for Yann Sommer, yes!!! Could you write one after the France-Switzerland game where he has to cheer up Griezmann? Thanks!

Thanks for your request. Hope you'll like it :-) xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Switzerland winning this match was against all the odds. Not many had predicted beforehand that this would be the outcome: Switzerland beating France in a penalty shootout, and throwing the reigning World Champions out of the Euro 2020. Yann could hardly believe it himself. Even now, more than an hour after the final whistle, he still needed some convincing this had actually happened. And with him being the hero of the penalty shootout, it all felt too good to be true. Yann strode quietly through the halls of the stadium. His teammates were celebrating loudly in the dressing room, and he needed a moment to himself right now. Without meaning to, he slowly walked past the dressing room of the French team. How different was the atmosphere there... It was quiet, disappointment and sadness almost tangible in the air. Rounding a corner, Yann stumbled upon Antoine Griezmann sitting on the floor in the middle of the hallway. Just like himself, Antoine seemed to need a moment to himself, but surely for an entirely different reason. Yann was about to quietly pass by, when Antoine spoke up. "Good match," the Frenchman told him, "and congratulations on the win." "Thank you," Yann turned around to face Antoine, "but I'm very sorry for you of course." Antoine silently shook his head. "We just weren't good enough. You deserved the win, and that last save was superb." Yann looked down at the French forward, sitting in front of him on the floor and looking utterly broken. "It'll be alright," Yann rested a hand on Antoine's shoulder, "maybe not today or tomorrow, but eventually it will be." Antoine raised his head, meeting Yann's gaze. "I know, but for now it just hurts." Tags: @glam-khal, @donkeykai, @evie-pr, @gryffinwars, @auawdo, @meteora-fc, @mmmufc

[ohsnapcracklepopfriends]

31 and 40 (DON'T SAY A TEAM OF CARRAGHERS THOUGH)

31. Favourite captain

Of all time, either Stevie Gerrard or Philipp Lahm, obviously I have a strong bias lol.

I think Stevie was a really good captain, he just embodied the spirit of the club completely and made everyone believe in Liverpool as much as he did even when there wasn’t much to believe in.

Fips I think is much more underrated. I genuinely think he is one of the best players I have watched and definitely one of the best leaders. I mean just look at his achievements as a captain and a player it’s incredible. He is just a seemingly effortless leader that is strong without being heavy handed. I just adore him.

Right now, I think Hendo obviously. He is the most captain-captain I’ve seen in a while in a time where Auba is a premier league captain (nothing against Auba as a player he’s just not really a captain). Honestly though, I know Thomas Müller isn’t technically a captain but he also just is and he’s so good at it. I also think Declan Rice is going to be one of the best captains, he’s so good already and so promising for further improvement. Anyways I should stop waffling now.

Putting a break before the next question because I’m rambling way too much prepare for an essay

40. Dream XI

Team of carraghers kidding.

I’m doing current because even that is too hard, forget all time. This isn’t going to be the best players or like a cohesive team even, I’m just going to do players in each position I’m excited ab at the moment lol

GK: Yann Sommer

He is just so good and so underrated that I decided to go for him over Manu, Ali, Ederson, etc. who have basically everyone singing their praises

RB: Trent Alexander Arnold

You already knew this. I fucking love this man. Is he great at actually defending? Maybe not. Is he a fucking fantastic player who is up with the best in the world? Absolutely. Is he also adorable and very scouse? Yes. Which plays much into my bias. But, if I were to back any defender in the world to score me a goal, it would be him though sule does seem to think he’s a striker rn

CBs: Virgil Van Dijk and Ruben Dias

Basic bitch choice I know. I can’t think of many centre backs that I’d really trust for every minute of every game as a manager. Not Sule. Not Rudiger. Surely not Dier. Not Maguire. I think maybe Thiago Silva is another name that could be thrown in here as a really good cb and out of principal I won’t say Varane.

LB: Alphonso Davies

Big shock! Not Andrew Robertson??? Ugh it was close. Phonzie just has so much pace and so much career ahead of him to be the best left back in the world. Though, if anyone hasn’t seen Robbo’s performance against Man City, I think it was in the Community Shield in 2019, please watch it. It is one of the best performances I have ever seen.

Mids: KDB and Joshua Kimmich

We’re going for a 4-2-3-1 I think lads. KDB is probably the best player in the world so obviously he goes in my team. He is breathtaking but everyone knows this so I’ll move on to Jo. Joshua is definitely not as silky or versatile as KDB—I said I’d move on but that man could play any position I stg. What he lacks in polish he makes up for in pure stubbornness and emotion. He plays with his heart on his sleeve and I cannot watch him play without a smile on my face. He is so enrapturing to watch and I just love him to bits. (Again maybe my German bias talking here)

Forwards: Mo Salah, Kylian Mbappe, Federico Chiesa

Okay I get this is a weird trio. I know. After Mo’s goal at the weekend I am more convinced than ever that he is the best player in the world fucking fight me (definitely my lfc bias lol) Mbappe is an obvious choice, plus I just want to pretend he will play on the same team as Mo at some point lol (ideally lfc). After watching the Champions league Juve v Chels game, I am so fucking excited about Chiesa. First of all, he’s a total cutie pie. Second, he scored the goal that beat Chelsea: which is always a great thing in my books. And he is just such an interesting player to watch. I absolutely adore watching him both in the Euros and now in the Champions league.

Striker: Robert Lewangoalski

Fucking obviously. The man scored 41 goals last season. He is the best striker in the world. Robert has the most breathtaking awareness of exactly where the goal is at all times. He could score with his eyes closed and his hands tied behind his back. He is incredible.

[elishamanning]

Now I've listened to the whole podcast (not that long this time) and OMG, Christoph Kramer please marry me!!! I completely understand Manu's heart eyes, and Leon's, if he's always like that (and he sounds completely authentic). First of all he's a few minutes late because he was playing cards with a player from the U21. They're talking about the Bayern game, obviously, and how important was knowing Yann Sommer was behind them, outdoing himself? Suddenly Chris is gushing about "beautiful Yann in his hot navy-blue jersey, everything about him perfect, everything on point that evening, not a hair out of place, you could tell it would be a great night for him". (you can practically hear the twinkle in his eyes) At another point in the podcast talking about how Flo Neuhaus is so photogenic and usually looks great in photos, but how the wizards from the media department even made himself look good on the autograph cards, him, who's the opposite of photogenic! "There are photos of me... you can't imagine!" and always getting nervous when a photo's about to be taken, "because you want to do something, and I always fail" Like, he went to the Supercup with some friends and they wanted to take a selfie to send to another friend and "...well, let's say we sent it anyway" hahaha. Knippi says he gets Chris' problem there, ChriKra "Oh, but you have such a lovely profile!" (Flo N meanly keeps confirming how bad ChriKra is on/with having his picture taken) They talk about the Bayern game, obviously, and in detail, the game itself, blablabla. Anyway, Chris loved - and Flo agrees - Knippi introducing them while they were out on the pitch "hearing the fans shout your name, the best feeling ever. Was that your idea?" Knippi says, no, that was only because of the whole entertainment programme they had to get through for the season opener. They're disappointed. Chris: "But can't you keep it like that? Like draw the whole stuff out to do the lineup when we're already out? While we're still in you could tell jokes or something!" Knippi says "Sat1 (TV channel) is back in the football business (they used to have the BuLi rights in the 90s and then not for a long time), how did you like that? Do you even care?" C "Not really, but it's all too much, I think! I wanted to watch Bundesliga on the weekend so turned on Sky and waited and wondered why it didn't start, turns out DAZN has the rights now for the Sunday matches. The next tournament will be on RTL or something? It's too much!" "So you don't care who does the post-match interviews?" "Not really, no. They're all... well of course when you get Ecki Heuser and you think 'now please don't ask me the mentality question on the first matchday of the season!'" HAHAHAHA "I think it should all be on ZDF!" Flo and Knippi laugh. C: "Yes, well. I do." Gushing about Bela Réthy. "I don't usually agree with him, but just his voice! I just associate it with football, and with great tournaments and excitement! If he wanted to read me a bedtime story every night, I wouldn't mind." The anniversary of Chris' first BuLi goal. "Oh yes I saw that on our social media." Flo "Yes, what did they caption it as? 'Not beautiful but important'?" Chris: "'Not beautiful but rare'" Flo "HAHA, EVEN better!" (He is so mean to him and Chris is so nice to *him*) Anyway. Chris reminisces about that moment and says he was sooo happy, he nearly cried. Like, he really had to swallow thickly, but then Flaco jumped on his back and everybody was roaring and he roared along with them, but he was... sooo happy. Then Flo remembers his first goal. (Chris also remembers it in detail, the opponent and the game itself. "First you assisted Papi (=Raffael), then you scored yourself.") Knippi: "Did you also nearly cry?" Flo: "No, of course not, I was more happy." Chris "I was happy, too!" Flo: "But you talked about crying!" "Yeah, crying from happiness? Don't you know that feeling, when you're so happy the tears start coming?" Flo "No." HAHAHAHA

Okay. I have to go to bed and this has already gotten too long. But anyway. Christoph Kramer, I love you. He's amazing. And the other two are great, too.

omg thank you so much for this he’s so wonderfulllll

"beautiful Yann in his hot navy-blue jersey, everything about him perfect, everything on point that evening, not a hair out of place, you could tell it would be a great night for him"

lmaooo chrikra obsessing over how beautiful yann is is literally all of us (as it should be tbh)

the opposite of photogenic

chrikra if you aren’t photogenic i’m almost afraid of how pretty you must be in person

'now please don't ask me the mentality question on the first matchday of the season!'

god i hope he wasn’t stuck doing any post match interviews today lol

Chris "I was happy, too!" Flo: "But you talked about crying!" "Yeah, crying from happiness? Don't you know that feeling, when you're so happy the tears start coming?" Flo "No." HAHAHAHA

lmaoooo i relate chrikra i cry with basically every extreme emotion haha

they’re really just both so wonderful i love them a lot

[ski-jumper-stan]

One of my favorite white men: Yann Sommer

Ohhh thanks :D Since I got reacquainted with football he's one of my faves, honestlyyyy. Like I don't post a lot of stuff myself but if I found something about him noone else has posted before I would put it on my blog in a heartbeat! And goalies are never not a little bit pretty or kind looking since they more often than not carry their whole team on their backs, which, just yes,,,, Kompetenz is da! also if he leaves gladbach for a not-bundesliga club i'll be saaad

And look at his smile, if someone smiles a lot I'm sold:

Yikes, I Don’t See The Appeal || Not My Type || He’s Alright || I See The Appeal But I’m Different™ || Cute But On Alternating Wednesdays || He Has A Kind Face And That’s Good Enough || Pretty || Gorgeous || I— I Love? We Don’t Deserve Him.

send me your favorite average, white man and i’ll rate him

[juweigl]

Roman Bürki’s interview with Blick

Roman Bürki, how did you find out that your trainer Thomas Tuchel had to go? On the way here. Unfortunately, everything goes quickly in football. Now a new trainer will come. But honestly I’m concentrating on the national team and then on the holidays. The rest is not in our hands but in the hands of those in charge. I’m sure they’ll find a good solution.

What do you think of Tuchel’s potential successor, Lucien Favre? He had success everywhere he worked. Personally I don’t know him.

Did you talk to Yann Sommer, who played under Favre at Gladbach? No, but I talked to my Dortmunder colleague Marco Reus. Naturally he also knows him from Gladbach.

What does he say about Favre? Only positive things. He’s a very meticulous worker.

Isn’t it comical that you have to talk about your trainer being fired so soon after winning the Pokal? The biggest joke for me was that on the pitch right after our Pokal victory, a journalist asked me if I wanted the trainer to stay or leave. I also heard from people watching the game on TV that TV stations only talked about whether the trainer was staying or not. Or whether Aubameyang was staying. And they didn’t talk about the fact that we won the title and played a great season. It’s a pity.

How do you feel after the Pokal celebrations last weekend? I’m still happy and proud. I hope that I’ll be back in top shape soon, and that I’ll be ready for the match on Thursday against Belarus.

How long was the celebration? There was certainly a free night (Freinacht?), or? I completely don’t know about that.

Did you go to bed or not? Yes, I went to bed. We started at 16:00 and at 22:00 we started celebrating on the bus. So far I hadn’t celebrated, not even in Zurich after the cups with Grasshopper Club.

We should talk again about the attack on your team bus. How did you deal with the terrible images in your head? With help from psychologists? I had help, yes. But also help from the team. And from the trainer, of course. He dealt with each individual. He noticed what everyone needed.

If you get back onto the bus now, do you have a strange feeling? It was explained to me like this: it’s similar to having a serious injury from a collision. This happened to me too. You just have to recover slowly and find the trust again. Once or twice I had a bad feeling when I got on the bus. But no more after that.

How would you describe the crazy season? Difficult. On one hand, I’m really proud of the team, the club, what we’ve done. On the other hand, we’ve obviously been shown that there’s more to life than football. Our season had ups and downs and was very special. With what happened on the bus and all the heres and theres, we had an up and down in every game. But we could always turn the games around and find a path to a victory. The Pokalfinale was the best example. We started well, then fell into a hole, got up again towards the end, and finished the season by winning a title.

Do you need the holidays soon to process everything? Definitely. I look forward to the holidays. My mind is no longer with what happened, with the bad things I went through. Nevertheless it’s important to concentrate fully for the national team so we can have a good starting position for the next games and qualifications. Then we’ll have a well-earned holiday. Then I’ll switch off and have some time away from football.

Where are you flying to? To Ibiza, like last year.

source: https://www.blick.ch/sport/fussball/nati/die-groesste-frechheit-bvb-keeper-buerki-nervt-sich-ueber-tuchel-theater-id6761561.html

[houssemaouar]

My fave is problematic (and other bad things that happened to them): FC Basel edition

I feel like I’m praising them so often that it might be not obvious that this club is kinda problematic 

Our main sponsor is in itself problematic: just read “Controversies and Criticisms” of Novartis. They’re also accused of bribing Greek officials

Riots and hooliganisms. All. the. fucking. time. If we win the league, riots. If we lose the league, riots. It’s a real problem and we have improved security in the Joggeli now but there are a lot of problems during away matches. And we still suck at controlling things.

The “North Korea” incident: (not really our fault but we were still responsible)

Some ESPN idiot decided to write an article about the fact that we had a North Korean player and a South Korean player. (The North Korean now plays for Lausanne and the South Korean plays for Borussia Dortmund)

Interviews and photos of the two of them together were not allowed, as the journalist said so himself in his article.

So the journalist decided to put the photo. 

Thankfully, there were no consequences (except for reports of the North Korean government being angry, which is never a nice). But still.

The “Switzerland Ban”: Long story short, Sepp Blatter got into an argument with one of his friends and it escalated and everyone was suing everyone but half of the courts weren’t allowed to rule on the problems so everyone ignored every judgement and Basel literally did nothing but sue another team. Sepp Blatter and his goons threatened to ban the Swiss FA from every international competition (the Swiss clubs and the Switzerland NT). Thankfully, we had the support of the British media, who understood that we were victims in this case and that it was a case of injustice that they should report. 

Just kidding, they didn’t care about us at all. (Because yes, ladies and gentlemen, FC Basel had just eliminated United of the Champions League, who were runner-ups the previous year*smug smile because fuck them*)

It led to this beautiful quote (not even by someone from Basel!) (and people still say that I’m the extra one)

We ultimately were not banned, but still. What kind of treatment is that?

The referees (it’s all Yann Sommer’s fault): Basel has the reputation of being helped by the refs quite regularly, and even I have trouble defending them sometimes.

It all really started after Yann Sommer committed a big foul during a cup game which should have led to a red card and a penalty but he got literally nothing. We went on to win the game and then the cup. People complained. We were punished in the most irritating way possible. They created an award for the “Best Team of the Swiss Cup” and they didn’t give it to us, they gave it to the team of the player Yann fouled. We’re desperate to win this award now, it’s our only goal.

But it’s true that they are a few occasions sometimes where the refs are “nicer” to us than to the other teams.

So like. We’re nice but still not perfect. We’re trying our best. 

[torentialtribute]

Chelsea news: Pedro’s wondergoal and four other things we learned from RB Salzburg win

Pedro & miracle goal gives the crowd a moment they will not forget, Christian Pulisic can perfect his runs and Jorginho still adapts to life under Frank Lampard – FIVE THINGS WE HAVE LEARNED FROM CHELSEA & # 39 ; S WIN

By [MikeKeeganForMailonline

Published: 21:12 BST, July 31, 2019 | Updated: 21:24 BST, July 31, 2019

Chelsea ran into an eight-goal thriller at the top RB Salzburg on Wednesday evening when Frank Lampard continued his preparations for his first season.

The former midfielder saw £ 58 million men Christian Pulisic scoring his first goals for the club and Pedro produces a scandalous finish to make it 4-1 at night.

Mike Keegan of Sportsmail shares five things he learned from Chelsea's victory with 5-3.

PEDRO STEALS THE SHOW

Even the Salzburg bus applauded. At 57 minutes Pedro gave everyone in this stadium a moment they will never forget.

The winger somehow wriggled through the air to meet Ross Barkley with an agile, beaten rear wheel over the keeper for something beautiful.

It must be seen to be believed. Words cannot do it justice. Scroll down and take a look.

Pedro scored a stunning volleyful rear wheel and gave Chelsea a 4-1 lead against RB Salzburg

The Spanish attacker is everyone laughs after scoring what was probably the best goal of the front egg kiss

CHRISTIAN PULISIC IS SWEET

The Am erican was born in Hershey, home of the famous Hershey bars, but it was his hunger for goals that emerged in an electrical version.

Yes, it comes with a disclaimer before the season, but this was a good day outing.

Pulisic can perfect his runs and against a conceded under defense, his teammates found him easy.

Three times in ten minutes the attacking midfielder was on target. The return was impressive.

One time he won a penalty, the other two he ended clinically. This felt like a big night.

Christian Pulisic scored his first two goals for Chelsea after completing his £ 58 million movement

BARKLEY ON THE SPOT [1945907]

] We may have discovered who is going to take the punishment from Chelsea now that Eden Hazard has left for Madrid.

England midfielder Ross Barkley was quick to grab the ball when Pulisic was bundled into the area by Rasmus Kristensen and made no mistake from the spot, clinically drilling low in the lower left corner of 12 meters and giving the goalkeeper no whatsoever opportunity.

It was far from his last, in the third place competition of the Nations League, when he dipped a nice panenka past the keeper Yann Sommer from Switzerland.

Ross Barkley may be the new Chelsea penalty kicker after the scoring from Austria

JORGIN'S TRAINING

Much has been done about how Sarri-ball disciple Jorginho fits into a Frank Lampard silk. He clearly still seems to be adapting.

While the Cheslea players celebrated the punishment of Ross Barkley in a chaos, the Italian stood out for his absence.

Instead, Jorginho sat on the sidelines and used the break to seek advice from coach Jody Morris.

Jorginho (center) tries to fit in Frank Lampard after being signed by Maurizio Sarrii

ROAMING ROMAN

Roman Abramovich has not been a regular face of West London for two years, after the visa row.

Some have wondered if their own interest in their club had diminished. However, it is known that he has a close relationship with the new manager Frank Lampard and the Russian was spotted in one of the boxes in the Red Bull Arena and checked the progress of his side under the club legend.

For Chelsea supporters, that must be a huge boost. To come to a friendly preseason in Austria, it can very well be seen as a sign of intent by the Russian

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich (the third from the right) made a rare journey to see his side in action

Receive your FREE Premier League Match Guide in collaboration with Sky Sports, only in Saturday's Daily Mail

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[shockingtackle-blog]

Sweden 1-0 Switzerland

Both sides came into this game with a lot of hope and a very decent chance of going far after Spain’s elimination against the hosts left the tournament with a lopsided, and yet rather exciting look. Now one of Croatia, Russia, Colombia, England, Sweden or Switzerland would reach the World Cup final. Yes. The final. Only one of those sides have ever reached a final before, and that was England, fifty-two years ago. Could one of them go all the way?

Sweden and Switzerland’s players might have had a tough time keeping their heads on the ground then, but they had both impressed in this tournament. Switzerland rode out an early storm against Brazil in their first game, and after Phillipe Coutinho’s fine opener, looked a very accomplished side as they held their own in a 1-1 draw. Then, in one of this world cup’s best games so far, they grabbed a dramatic 2-1 victory over many people’s fancied underdogs Serbia thanks to the mercurial Xherdan Shaqiri’s scampering run in the final stages, away from the despairing Dusko Tosic, and then his slotted finish. Both he and their other goalscorer Granit Xhaka had sent Serbia and FIFA into meltdown with their “double-eagle” celebrations (representing the flag of Albania, where their families emigrated from). Brilliant entertainment. They then got the draw they needed to go through in second-place behind Brazil.

Sweden had earned a deserved victory over South Korea in their first game thanks to captain Andreas Grandqvist’s sixty-fifth minute penalty. They then faced the world champions Germany in Sochi and deserved so much more than they ended up with. After Ola Toivonen, who had narrowly avoided relegation to Ligue 2 with Toulouse last season, scored a brilliant goal to put them infront, they should have increased their advantage to two or three. Profligate finishing (and perhaps a refereeing decision) let them down, but even after Marco Reus’ early equaliser in the second half, they looked to be seeing the game out well enough and in the process pretty much killing Germany’s hope. Then they made a couple of poor decisions (John Guidetti scuffing a shot straight at the keeper when he could have kept hold of the ball, Jimmy Durmaz diving in to give Toni Kroos his opportunity to produce THAT free-kick) and it seemed it was to be them who would exit the world cup. But on an astonishing final day in group F they hammered Mexico 3-0 and topped the group.

Switzerland were forced into changes before the game because of suspensions, with the new Arsenal man Stephan Lichtsteiner and first choice centre-back Fabian Schär both having to be replaced by Michael Lang and former Arsenal man Johan Djourou respectively. They also made attacking changes of their own choice, with Breel Embolo and Mario Gavranovic not impressive enough to retain their place from the Costa Rica game. Steven Zuber took the place of Embolo on the left and Swiss coach started Josip Drmic upfront for the first time in the tournament, in a bid to solve their problems in the position.

Sweden made their only change because of Seb Larson’s suspension, Gustav Svensson of Seattle Sounders replacing him.

The game began with some excellent play from Marcus Berg as he wrestled with the Swiss defender and cushioned the ball down to Victor Claesson. Berg then spun and ran in behind his defender, received the ball back with a great pass from Ola Toivonen, and looked to have a clean shot on goal from a wide position. Unfortunately he showed little of the composure which had got him through on goal in the first place and lashed his shot miles wide of the goal. Soon after the Swiss were over elaborate as they tried to play out from the back, and Yann Sommers clearance fell to Albin Ekdal midway inside the Swiss half. He volleyed the ball first time to Berg who looked to be in another great position, but Manuel Akanji made a good block to deny his shot. The ball then looped back out to onrushing Ekdal, but he could only smash his volley into the stands. Then Switzerland looked disorganised once again as Johan Djourou slipped and Berg’s ball was just behind Emil Forsberg when an accurate one could have played the RB Leipzig winger through on goal. Throughout all this Switzerland’s main man Xherdan Shaqiri then started to receive the ball a lot, and his in-swinging crosses were a regular occurence in the first half. Midway through the first half he created Switzerland’s first chance as Steven Zuber ran onto his cross but Zuber’s flicked header caused no problems to Robin Olsen in goal. Then Sweden had another good chance as Claesson knocked the ball down to Marcus Berg after a scramble in the box, and Berg’s low volley came off the turf as it travelled towards the bottom corner, requiring a very decent save from Yann Sommer to prevent the goal. Switzerland then had their best chance of the game as Zuber picked out Blerim Dzemaili with a cutback, but he could only rocket his shot over the bar when he ought to have tested the keeper. Despite Switzerland dominating possession, they were often keeping the ball in areas that were of no concern to Sweden, with both Xhaka and Behrami vacating the midfield to become extra centre-backs at times. This meant that they often failed to give enough support to the creative midfield three, and Sweden looked comfortable. And they should have taken the lead at the end of the first half, when Lustig’s cross looped over everyone else to Albin Ekdal at the far post, but he side-footed high over the bar and not past Sommer. Unfortunately Drmic did not have the desired effect upfront, playing too static and not being strong enough to dominate Victor Lindelöf and Andreas Grandqvist.

At the start of the second half there was a great piece of skill from Forsberg as he turned like a spinning top and left the Swiss midfield in his wake. The ball was crossed in and fell to Toivonen, but the Swedish finishing was again profligate. There was then a small period of sustained Swiss pressure, the peak being when Shaqiri’s dangerous cross was punched away by Olsen, but nothing came of it. The game seemed a dull one, with Switzerland looking blunt in attack, and Sweden happy to contain them and try and take chances from set-pieces and counter-attacks. Forsberg then came into the game and drew a couple of fouls from Valon Behrami, which would have seen him miss the next match. As it turned out, he wouldn’t have to worry about it. Finally the game was sparked into life as Sweden played a number of sharp passes around the box, Forsberg received the ball from Toivonen and took one touch past Xhaka, who dived in too easily, and smashed the ball straight towards Sommer. Unfortunately for the Swiss it took a killer deflection off Akanji which left Sommer for dead and looped the ball high into the net. There was just twenty minutes left and that goal sprung the Swiss into action, bringing on Breel Embolo and Haaris Seferovic for Dzemaili and Zuber. Shaqiri then came deep and his pinged cross was just beyond the stretch of the onrunning Akanji. Switzerland managed to get Ricardo Rodriguez down the left hand side a few times, but he wasn’t his usual self and too often seemed reluctant to cross. Akanji’s header was cleared off the line from a corner, Josip Drmic’s shot was blocked, and Seferovic’s header was saved, but ultimately Switzerland didn’t do enough to break down the mean-spirited Swedish defense. And then in the final minute of injury time, sub Martin Olsson was played through on goal, felt a hand on his back, dived to the floor in the box and won a penalty with a red card for Michael Lang. The decision was reviewed, then reversed, a free-kick given instead, but by the time the process had finished it was game over, and Sweden went marching on.

Sweden will face the winner of the Colombia vs England game, and though they will be underdogs whoever they face, they will fancy themselves with their unique brand of defensive organisation and dogged determination which has seen them reach this point.

[miroslavcloset]

Let me celebrate the first day of Yann Sommer being in Bayern as it is meant... Writing fanfiction about him

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