"New" Sweden was heading for a cross in the derby against Denmark. Then Manchester United star Christian Eriksen decided the outcome.
Blågults Danish national team coach Jon Dahl Tomasson's return to Parken ended in a 1-2 loss.
With 112 A-team matches and a goal record of 52 full-time goals in the red and white national team jersey, it was a special match for Sweden's Danish national team coach Jon Dahl Tomasson. Before the kick-off, the former striker was honored by a full Parken in Copenhagen and was inducted into the Danish Football Hall of Fame.
It was all over after just 80 seconds. Then an unmarked Pierre-Emile Højbjerg could drive in the opening goal behind Robin Olsen on a corner.
The response did not take long. Alexander Isak has often started on the wing under Tomasson, but was now the spearhead.
In the 10th minute, the Newcastle striker silenced Parken when he sent in the 1-1 equalizer behind Frederik Rønnow in the home goal.
Isak got the chance after Jens Cajuste had slipped up in a midfield position and taken a shot. The Napoli player Cajuste started as a left-back, but had a clear assignment to move across the entire midfield when Sweden had the ball.
The meeting with the home country Denmark was Tomasson's third training match since he took over as coach in March, and he says that the national team is under reconstruction.
This will bring some new building blocks. For the first time in his career, Niclas Eliasson (AEK Athens) was called up and the 28-year-old took his place on the right in attack.
EM-qualified Denmark – Sweden misses the football party in Germany – dominated the start. Above all, the Danes were worried about a stubborn blue-yellow defense on corners, but Sweden grew into the match offensively.
Just as the second half was about to start, midfielder Simon Olsson was substituted for Hugo Larsson. Captain Victor Nilsson Lindelöf also left the pitch and Hjalmar Ekdal took his place in defense. Ekdal, however, only had a few minutes on the pitch before he was injured and substituted for Carl Starfelt.
For most of the second half, it was sleepy and it was clear that it was a friendly match, but even the Danes want to win against Sweden.
Danish national team coach Kasper Hjulmand rested some of his stars, but Manchester United midfielder Christian Eriksen was with him from the start. In the 86th minute, he drove the ball up, aimed at himself and curled in the winning goal with his sharp right foot.
Tomasson says this about the match and being back at Parken:
After 2-5 against Portugal, 0-1 against Albania and now 1-2 against Denmark, Serbia awaits "newly built" Sweden at Friends Arena on Saturday.
For injured Hjalmar Ekdal, further examinations are scheduled for Thursday. According to team doctor Jonas Werner, he got pain in his lower back during a run.
