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In The World Cup’s Finest we ask various individuals to delve into their own personal history of football’s quadrennial showpiece extravaganza, selecting a number of favourites as well as revealing what is their very first World Cup memory.
Are you a fan of the USA World Cup held in 1994? Have a penchant for Swedish football? Or perhaps you just like delving into the history of World Cup’s gone by. Join Daniel Larsson, CCO at Enteractive, who brings a very distinct theme to today’s proceedings.
Favourite World Cup
Goal
Thomas Brolin (Sweden v Romania, 1994). It’s one of the most famous free kicks in World Cup history, not only for the trickery but also for the emphatic finish. Almost everyone in the stadium expected Stefan Schwarz to take a direct shot at goal, except Tomas Brolin. He was brilliantly found in space, catching the Romanian defence off-guard and finishing well from a tight angle. A marvellous goal!
Game
Sweden v Romania, 1994. This game had everything and was a real roller-coaster ride for every Sweden fan. Brolin’s wonderful strike, as mentioned above, appeared to be the winner but Romania pegged us back in the dying minutes. It looked all over for us when the Romanians took the lead in extra time, but thankfully Kennet Andersson was at hand to strike late on to send the game to penalties. The shootout was excruciating to watch, especially being a youngster at the time. However, the sheer joy of scoring that decisive penalty will never be forgotten.
Player
Tomas Brolin. An all-time Swedish great and my favourite player. He was fantastic on the ball and certainly had an eye for goal, scoring plenty of them during his international career. He’s also the only Swedish player in my lifetime to make the World Cup all-star team – not even Zlatan Ibrahimovíc has achieved that feat!
Team
Sweden, 1994. It has to be the 1994 team, especially as we’ve struggled in recent years to make any sort of an impact at the World Cup. Despite being unfancied at the start of the tournament, we managed to progress out of a tough group and narrowly lost to Brazil at the semi-final stage. The ‘94 side played some great football and will long be remembered as one of our nation’s best teams.
Kit
Sweden, 1994. Given that all my previous answers have been associated with Sweden at the 1994 World Cup, it comes as no surprise to learn that I’ve opted for the kit the Swedes played in that tournament! The classic Adidas shirt has become a retro favourite.
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First World Cup memory
17 June – 17 July 1994 (World Cup, USA). It was the summer of 1994 when the tournament was held across the United States. Sweden had gone through what felt like the hottest summer I would ever experience. Due to the tournament being held in the US, I remember fighting my 6-year old’s fatigue to support Sweden during the early hours of the morning as they progressed to eventually claim third spot, our best performance at the World Cup in recent times.
The World Cup’s Finest is to be a regular feature during the Russia World Cup, profiling a different individual each week day, if you would like to be involved please email [email protected].
