WORLD CUP USA ’94 / ROUND OF 16 : SOCCER : Defense, Planning Put Heat on Saudis

The “Last Viking,” otherwise known as Swedish midfielder Tomas Brolin, was talking to writers in the so-called mixed zone when the question of defense came up.

“Sweden’s defense is looking very good. Can you comment a bit about that?” he was asked.

“Yes, it’s looking very good,” Brolin replied straight-faced, then laughed.

Brolin who orchestrates the Swedish attack from his position on the right side of midfield, knows more about offense than defense, so perhaps his reply might have been expected.

It would have been better to have asked fellow midfielders Stefan Schwarz or Jonas Thern the same question since it was their tireless work Sunday that was a major factor in Sweden’s 3-1 victory over Saudi Arabia in front of 60,277 sun-baked fans at the Cotton Bowl.

Unfortunately, neither was available. Schwarz did not show up in the mixed zone and Thern had been taken to Baylor University to have a diagnostic test performed on his injured knee.

Usually, the forwards--the goal scorers--get all of the attention after a victory, while the defenders usually get the blame after a loss. But Sweden’s defense was every bit as important in getting the team through to the World Cup quarterfinals as the goals by Martin Dahlin and Kennet Andersson.

For the Swedes, the key to Sunday’s success was preparation and planning. Unlike other teams--Morocco, Belgium and, to a lesser degree, the Netherlands--Sweden did not take the Saudis for granted.

“I think (Saudi Arabia) is a very good team,” Swedish Coach Tommy Svensson said.

“Its best quality is in attack, a very powerful and fast attack. But I think we probably are the team that has analyzed the Saudis best and we knew how to deal with them. I don’t think the other teams have been as serious about Saudi Arabia as we have been.”

That was lesson one. Lesson two was learned from the Germans, who barely held on for a 3-2 victory over South Korea in the Cotton Bowl last week because they expended all their energy early on, then wilted in the heat.

“We took it more easy and played more economic from the start,” Svensson said. “I think that the Germans rushed for the whole first half, but we took some pauses in our play in the first half. We learned a lot from that match, I think.”

It helped, of course, that Sweden had taken the lead on Dahlin’s sixth-minute header at the far post.

“That was important and a strong motivation for the Swedish defenders,” said Jorge Solari, the Saudis’ Argentine coach.

Sweden plays with a four-man defensive line using Roger Ljung at left back, Joachim Bjorklund and Patrik Andersson at center back and Roland Nilsson at right back. In addition, Schwarz and Thern frequently drop back to help out the defense.

As a result, goalkeeper Thomas Ravelli has a solid wall in front of him and it took the Saudis until the last five minutes to find a way through.

“We knew before the match that it was going to be a very difficult task for us and we tried to prepare ourselves both for the heat and for the way that we knew Saudi Arabia would like to play,” Svensson said, giving a nod of recognition to his defense. “The defense is the key to success, and I don’t only speak about the four in the back line,” he said.

“The defense in midfield and up front is very good. And when we have players like Stefan Schwarz and Jonas Thern in the center of the midfield, I think we are very difficult to play (against).”

To their dismay, the Saudis learned that. They relied on the quick counterattack, but time and again promising Saudi offensive moves foundered on the rocks of the Swedish defense.

“When I saw their lineup before the game, I knew they would play with Hamza Falatah and Sami Al Jaber up top,” Svensson said.

“They are very fast, quick players and we knew that we must prevent the Saudi midfield from playing the long passes and be very careful in our back line. I think we did that very well.”

Bjorklund, who is Svensson’s nephew, said the defenders did not receive much special instruction before the game.

“He wanted us to play patiently and do what we are best at,” he said.

Because they did, Sweden is in the final eight and looking better every day, as Romania will discover next Sunday in Palo Alto.