|
"Great
Blow To England' Soccer Prestige"
Western Daily Press & Bristol Mirror |
Officials |
Sweden |
FIFA ruling on substitutes |
England
Party |
Referee
(black blazer)
Giovanni Galeati
48 (18
February 1901), Castel Bolognese, Italy |
Teams presented to the Swedish Crown Prince,
Oscar Fredrik Wilhelm Olaf Gustaf Adolf.
The FIFA ruling of allowing a substitute to replace an injured player prior to the 44th minute, and a goalkeeper at any time, is in place.
|
Linesmen from Norway |
Oskar Björnë |
Finn Bröthen |
|
|
Sweden
Team |
|
Rank |
No official ranking system established; ELO rating 5th to 4th |
Colours |
Yellow jerseys with blue collars/cuffs,
blue shorts, blue socks with two yellow thin hoops. |
Captain |
"Erik Nilsson"
- Svenska Dagbladet |
Selection |
Selection committee headed by J. Rudolf E.
Kock, 47 (29 June 1901) |
Trainer:
George
Sidney Raynor, 42
(13 January 1907) |
Sweden
Lineup |
|
Svensson, Karl-Oskar |
23 183 days |
11 November 1925 |
G |
Helsingborgs IF |
1 |
1ᵍᵃ |
2 |
Nordahl, Knut E.A. |
29 120 days |
13 January 1920 |
RB |
IFK Norrköping |
17 |
1 |
3 |
Nilsson, Erik |
32 280 days |
6 August 1916 |
LB |
Malmö FF |
24 |
0 |
4 |
Rosén, Kjell |
28 78 days |
24 April 1921 |
RHB |
Malmö FF |
18 |
6 |
5 |
Leander, O. Börje |
31 67 days |
7 March 1918 |
CHB |
AIK Stockholm |
20 |
3 |
6 |
Andersson, Sune I. |
28 80 days |
22 February 1921 |
LHB |
AIK
Stockholm |
16 |
1 |
7
|
Jónsson, Egon |
22 200 days |
25 October 1926 |
OR |
GAIS Göteborg |
1 |
1 |
8
|
Gren, J.
Gunnar |
28 294 days |
31 October 1920 |
IR |
IFK
Göteborg |
38 |
24 |
9
|
Jepsson, Hans |
24 3 days |
10 May 1925 |
CF |
Djurgårdens IF |
1 |
1 |
10
|
Carlsson, N.G. Henry |
31 196 days |
29 October 1917 |
IL |
AIK Stockholm |
25 |
17 |
11 |
Bäckvall, Bertil K. |
26 80 days |
22 February 1923 |
OL |
AIK Stockholm |
2 |
0 |
final app
1945-49 |
unused substitutes: |
G.Sjöberg (AIK), C.E.Andersson (Djurgårdens), B.Rosengren
(Norrköping), K.Franck (Helsingborgs), A.Hjalmarsson (Elfsborg),
according to the matchday programme. |
team notes: |
Börje Leander was the brother-in-law of Lennart
Johansson, UEFA President 1990-2007. |
records: |
For the first time, two
players have scored on their debuts against England. The first
opposition debut goal since Scotland did so in April 1947. |
Committee Chairman Pette Kock played against England in 1923. |
|
2-3-5 |
Svensson - Nordahl, Nilson - Rosén, Leander, Andersson -
Jónsson, Gren, Jepsson, Carlsson, Bäckvall. |
Averages: |
Age |
27 years 279
days |
Appearances/Goals |
14.8 |
4.6 |
|
|
England
Team |
|
Rank |
No official ranking system established; ELO rating 4th to 5th |
Colours |
The 1949 home
uniform -
White collared jerseys, blue shorts, black socks with white
tops. |
P 2nd of 43, W 0 - D 0 - L 2 - F 2 - A 6. |
Captain |
Billy Wright |
Manager |
Walter Winterbottom, 36 (31 March 1913), appointed as FA national director of coaching/team manager on 8 July 1946; |
5th of 90, W 3 - D 0 - L 2 - F 15 - A
8. |
Trainer: Jimmy Trotter (Charlton Athletic FC) |
P twentieth of 139, W 14 - D 3 - L 3 - F 68 - A 20. |
|
Party chosen by Selection Committee headed by Arthur Drewry, on Monday, 2 May, team chosen on Wednesday, 11 May. |
England
Lineup |
|
four changes
to the previous match (Swift,
Howe, Milburn & Pearson out) |
FINAL league positions
(7 May) |
|
|
Ditchburn, Edwin G. |
27 201 days |
24 October 1921 |
G |
Tottenham Hotspur FC (FL2
5th) |
2 |
3ᵍᵃ |
681 |
2 |
Shimwell, Edmund |
29 75 days |
27 February 1920 |
RB |
Blackpool FC (FL
16th) |
1 |
0 |
the fifth Blackpool player to represent
England |
only app
1949 |
3 |
Aston, John |
27 162 days |
3 September 1921 |
LB |
Manchester United FC (FL
RU) |
5 |
0 |
4 |
Wright, William A. |
25 96 days |
6 February 1924 |
RHB |
Wolverhampton
Wanderers FC (FL 6th) |
20 |
0 |
the 19th/20th player to reach the 20 app milestone |
5 |
Franklin,
Cornelius |
27 109 days |
24 January 1922 |
CHB |
Stoke
City FC (FL
11th) |
20 |
0 |
the 19th/20th player to reach the 20 app milestone |
6 |
Cockburn,
Henry |
27 241 days |
14 September 1921 |
LHB |
Manchester
United FC (FL
RU) |
10 |
0 |
7
|
Finney,
Thomas |
27 38 days |
5 April 1922 |
OR |
Preston
North End FC (FL
21st rel.) |
16 |
13 |
8 |
Mortensen, Stanley H. |
27 352 days |
26 May 1921 |
IR |
Blackpool FC (FL
16th) |
11 |
14 |
682 |
9 |
Bentley, T.F. Roy |
24 361 days |
17 May 1924 |
CF |
Chelsea FC (FL
13th) |
1 |
0 |
the fifteenth Chelsea player to represent
England |
10 |
Rowley, John F. |
30 218 days |
7 October 1918 |
IL |
Manchester United FC (FL
RU) |
2 |
1 |
11 |
Langton,
Robert |
30 157 days |
8 September 1918 |
OL |
Preston North End FC (FL
21st rel.) |
9 |
1 |
unused substitutes: |
no reserves were named. |
team notes: |
This defeat marks England's first post-war back-to-back defeats. The
first time they have suffered two defeats-in-a-row since 1936. |
|
2-3-5 |
Ditchburn - Shimwell, Aston - Wright, Franklin, Cockburn -
Finney,
Mortensen, Bentley, Rowley, Langton. |
Averages: |
Age |
27 years 301
days |
Appearances/Goals |
8.8 |
2.5 |
|
|
Match Report by
Mike Payne |
It
really was a case of unlucky 'Friday the thirteenth' when England met
Sweden in Stockholm in the first game of their summer tour of Scandinavia.
The Swedes dished out quite a football lesson to their illustrious
visitors and fully realised the potential they had shown at Highbury two
years ago.
The first two minutes contained two of the games important moments. After
90 seconds, Roy Bentley all but scored when he followed on to a bad
back-pass by Leander and lobbed the ball over Svensson. The goalkeeper,
though, somewhat luckily managed to keep it out of his net.
It was a crucial miss as Sweden then went straight up the other end and
opened their scoring. Gren, lively throughout, caught England out with a
fine pass for Carlsson to run on to and score a good goal.
England
were stunned and it showed again in their play. On 35 minutes Gren was
again the playmaker as a brilliant four-man move ended with Jepsson
crashing home a shot on the run. The, three minutes from half-time,
Johnsson volleyed home spectacularly after receiving yet another cross
from Gren. That goal brought the near 40,000 crowd to their feet and they
gave their players a standing ovation at the break. Mortensen had hit a
post just before then end of the half, but England trooped off bemused and
bewildered.
To their eternal credit, England rallied after the
restart and in the last 25 minutes controlled the play. When after 67
minutes, Tom Finney scored to round off a fine dribble and pass by Bentley
it seemed that a miracle may be possible.
However, it was at this
stage of the game that the ball began to run very unkindly for England.
Bentley saw a shot cannon off a post and Finney was twice dispossessed
when seemingly about to score. Then, in the last minute, Svensson saved
bravely at Mortensen's feet when a goal seemed certain as the inside-right
strode clear.
|
Match Report by
Norman Giller |
Even without
the great Italian-based Gunnar Nordhal, Sweden were able to produce the power
and precision that had brought them the 1948 Olympic gold medal. They scored
their three goals
in the first
half, with Eddie Shimwell being given a torrid time in his only international
appearance at right-back. Chelsea centre-forward Roy Bentley was unlucky not
to mark his debut with a goal in the opening minutes, and both he and Tom
Finney hit the woodwork in the second half as Sweden battled to hang on to
their three-goal lead. It was a Bentley dribble that set up Finney for
England's only goal in the sixty-seventh minute. Skipper Billy Wright lost
the toss and ir proved crucial. The Swedes chose to play with a setting sun
behind them and goalkeeper Ted Ditchburn complained of being blinded for two
of the three Swedish goals.
But
overall England could not complain about the result. The football Sweden
played was a credit to English coach George Raynor.
|
Match Report
as appears in the F.A. Yearbook 1949-50, page 25 |
To play matches in five different countries in the space of ten days is no
small undertaking. The twenty-six players who went on the trip were split
up into 'A' and 'B' teams. The 'A' team played three matches beating
France and Norway, losing to Sweden: the 'B' team won both their matches,
against Holland and Finland. Although the opening game against Sweden was
lost, the overall success of the tour and the welcome given everywhere to
the English players undoubtedly justified such a strenuous programme.
The party left London for Stockholm on May 10th in two aircraft on a fine
sunny day, and had an excellent flight to the Swedish capital after a
brief stop in Copenhagen on the way. The opening match of the tour against
Sweden took place on the evening of Friday, May 13th.
England won
the toss and decided to take the wind but play into the sun. In the
opening minute England almost scored, due to a misunderstanding between a
Swedish defender and the goalkeeper. Only a minute later Sweden got the
vital opening goal when Carlsson carefully lobbed the ball into the net
over the head of the advancing Ditchburn. A second goal came to the Swedes
in the thirty-sixth minute after a delightful movement by Carlsson and
Jepsson. Sweden got another before the interval when their right winger,
Johnsson, drove in a terrific right-foot shot from a difficult angle.
England's solitary goal came in the sixty-seventh minute from the
right-foot of Preston's winger, Finney. It was undoubtedly one of
England's off days, although in spite of fielding a weakened side, Sweden
played extremely well together.
|
In
Other News....
It was on 12 May 1949 that the Soviet blockade of Berlin was
finally ended after 327 days, when roads, railways and waterways
were opened to traffic to deliver supplies to the west of the
city. The huge airlifts provided mainly by the British and
American air forces continued to drop supplies for another four
months to help to build up a surplus of goods.
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|
Source Notes |
TheFA.com
Original newspaper reports Svenskfotboll.se |
|
Rothman's Yearbooks
Mike Payne's England: The Complete Post-War Record
Norman Giller, Football Author |
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