Euro Qualification

The Swedish national football team played San Marino tonight in a qualification game for the UEFA Euro Championships next year. San Marino is one of Europe's smallest countries and has one of the worst records in football. This should have been an easy victory. However, San Marino managed to keep the score even 0-0 well into the second half of the game. We were a little nervous, and it was not without seriousness that we joked about Sweden not winning or even losing the game. It was not until after one of San Marino's players got a red card and Sweden managed to score its first goal that the game really turned Sweden's way. Sweden finally won 5-0. The victory was not as sure as the numbers show, because San Marino's team stopped trying so hard after the first Swedish goals. In the first half, Sweden's team did not play well, but they improved later. It was nice to get a victory, though. Sweden is now one step closer to being qualified to the tournament next summer.