'They lay down in every situation' - Sweden striker blasts Italy

Dom Farrell

'They lay down in every situation' - Sweden striker blasts Italy image

Marcus Berg accused Italy's players of trying to get him sent off as Sweden prevailed 1-0 in an ill-tempered World Cup play-off encounter in Stockholm.

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Al Ain's Berg was booked for dissent in the aftermath of strike partner Ola Toivonen catching Leonardo Bonucci with an elbow in the game's first attack.

Bonucci claimed afterwards the incident left him with a broken nose and that Toivonen should have been sent off, while Berg was involved in altercations with Giorgio Chiellini and Daniele De Rossi immediately before substitute Jakob Johansson fired home his deflected 61st-minute winner.

"I got a yellow because I was talking, they have 10 who speak in every situation," Berg told Sportbladet.

"The Italians obviously wanted to get me sent off. They lay down in every situation."

Berg, who scored eight times during Sweden's qualification campaign, left Italy in no doubt that they should expect another physical encounter when the sides reconvene at San Siro on Monday.

"I knew there would be a war today and it will be a damn war on Monday," he added.

Match-winner Johansson praised Sweden for standing firm in the face of perceived provocation.

"The Italians try to play tough and sometimes more than that," he told Sportbladet.

"It is part of the mental game to be able to resist it and to focus on what we are going to do with our game plan. We succeeded well."

Dom Farrell

Dom Farrell Photo

Dom is the senior content producer for Sporting News UK. He previously worked as fan brands editor for Manchester City at Reach Plc. Prior to that, he built more than a decade of experience in the sports journalism industry, primarily for the Stats Perform and Press Association news agencies. Dom has covered major football events on location, including the entirety of Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup in Paris and St Petersburg respectively, along with numerous high-profile Premier League, Champions League and England international matches. Cricket and boxing are his other major sporting passions and he has covered the likes of Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, Wladimir Klitschko, Gennadiy Golovkin and Vasyl Lomachenko live from ringside.