Hungarian dominance was a recurring theme of early FIFA World Cups, though the central Europeans were twice defeated finalists, falling to Italy in 1938, and then to Germany in the 1954 Final when they were considered odds-on certainties to lift the trophy. The team built around football legend Ferenc Puskas led 2-0 in that match, but they ended up 3-2 losers in a game the Germans subsequently christened 'The Miracle of Berne.
grandsons of that truly great side have struggled to emulate the pedigree of those long-lost days. Hungary only missed out on a place at France 1998 at the final hurdle, qualifying for the play-offs after finishing second in their group but collapsing to heavy defeats (7-1 and 5-0) by Yugoslavia.
Veterans of 11 FIFA World Cups , Sweden will begin qualifying for South Africa 2010 as one of Europe's heavyweight contenders. The Scandinavian nation's pedigree in this tournament is undisputed - they have reached the semi-finals twice, in 1938 and 1994, and the Final in 1958 - but it is a measure of expectations generated by these achievements that the Swedes' creditable recent record has been regarded by their own fans as somewhat disappointing.
The last three major tournaments, in fact, have seen Sweden establish a familiar pattern of qualifying for the competition itself, advancing from the group stage and then falling at the first knockout hurdle. This represents an achievement of which many comparable countries would be proud, but so accustomed have the Swedes become to success that there were calls for long-serving coach Lars Lagerback to step down after the 2-0 Round of 16 defeat to Germany in 2006.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.