Johan Esk: Sweden's World Cup loss was a crash landing

Sweden's World Cup campaign took a dramatic downturn with a crushing 5-1 loss to the Netherlands in Houston, a performance commentator Johan Esk likened to a "crash landing that not even NASA could have saved."

Esk's commentary paints a bleak picture of the Swedish team's display, stating that "nothing worked" from the outset. He observed a complete lack of intensity, noting that the players "didn't even try to go into a duel." The team, which had previously celebrated a strong victory over Tunisia, appeared lethargic and disconnected, seemingly still basking in past successes or affected by the humid Houston conditions.

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Sweden's VM-lag har varit ute på en glädjefärd i några dagar. Sedan kom kraschlandningen.

The commentator drew a stark comparison to Sweden's 2010 World Cup qualifying defeat against the Netherlands, which also ended in a heavy loss. He expressed disappointment that the team seemed to be mere "statist" on the field, failing to compete effectively. Even the tactical break, intended to regroup, seemed to have little impact on Sweden's passive performance against a dominant Dutch side.

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Det kom dagen före matchen uppgifter att Frenkie de Jong skulle missa mötet. Det var fake news. Istället gjorde de Jong precis vad han ville de första 20 minuterna. Så långt hade svenskarna inte ens försökt gå in i en duell.