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Senegal reaches quarterfinals on Camara's golden goal
Senegal beats Sweden 2-1 on golden goal in their World Cup pre-quarterfinal match.
- Indo-Asian News Service
- Updated: February 25, 2007 08:27 AM IST
Read Time: 3 min
Oita, Japan:
Henri Camara scored a golden goal in the 104th minute Sunday as Senegal beat Sweden 2-1 and advanced to the quarterfinals of the World Cup. It was just the second golden goal to decide a World Cup match. In France four years ago, eventual champion France beat Paraguay 1-0 when Laurent Blanc scored in the 113th minute.
Camara earlier forced overtime when he sent a fantastic low shot past a diving Magnus Hedman in the 37th minute. Henrik Larsson, who netted his third goal of the World Cup, gave Sweden the early lead in the 11th minute after heading in a corner kick with Senegal goalkeeper Tony Sylva trailing.
Senegal plays Japan or Turkey in the quarterfinals on Saturday in Osaka.
Both sides created loads of chances in the final 45 minutes in front of 39,747 at the Big Eye Stadium, but neither side had the finishing touch.
The attacking continued in extra time as Anders Svensson, who also had a pair of chances in the second half, rocketed a shot off the outside of the post in the 95th minute. El Hadji Diouf nearly ended it in the 98th, wiggling through the Sweden defense and getting past Olof Mellberg before sending his shot well wide.
In the 93rd, Amdy Faye blasted a shot over the top from well outside the area, and Sweden had a flurry of chances a minute earlier with Zlatan
Ibrahimovic getting the best chance.
The Swedes' best chance of an attacking second half came in the 80th minute as substitute Ibrahimovic beat Senegal defender Ferdinand Coly, walked into the area and slipped by Aliou Cisse. But the Ajax forward's shot, heading for the near post, was saved by Sylva.
In the 88th, Ibrahimovic could have given Sweden the lead, but he failed to control the cross with his chest. Svensson had a perfect chance with a volley in the 57th, but his shot went well wide. Five minutes earlier, Marcus Allback's shot was saved easily by Sylva.
Diouf and Camara had the best chances for Senegal, but neither was able to finish the job.
In the first half, the Senegalese thought they had scored in the 25th minute when Diouf slipped a pass just past the diving reach of Swedish 'keeper Hedman and onto the foot of Papa Bouba Diop. The ball went in, but the linesman raised his flag to signal offsides.
The Dakar Lions, the fourth African team to reach the knockout stage, wanted a penalty in the 15th minute after Diouf split Olof Mellberg and Tobias Linderoth to get into the area. Andreas Jakobsson then put Diouf down, but Paraguayan referee Ubaldo Aquino kept his whistle silent.
Sweden appealed for a penalty in the 34th after Omar Daf took down Marcus Allback in the area, but Aquino didn't agree.
Senegal played without starters Salif Diao in midfield and winger Khalilou Fadiga. Diao is serving the last of a two-match ban for an ugly tackle in the 1-1 draw against Denmark while Fadiga is out because of two yellow cards.
Sweden missed midfield star Fredrik Ljungberg, who also sat out his team's 1-1 draw with Argentina, because of hip inflammation.
The Lions, who burst onto the African soccer scene earlier this year when they beat Nigeria in the semifinals of the African Cup of Nations, upset defending champion France 1-0 in the opening match of the World Cup finals.
Sweden, which finished third in the 1994 World Cup in the United States and lost in the final at home in 1958, missed the tournament four years ago. Senegal is making its first appearance.
Lineups:
Senegal: 1-Tony Sylva, 17-Ferdinand Coly, 4-Papa Malick Diop (Habib Beye, 66), 13-Lamine Diatta, 2-Omar Daf, 6-Aliou Cisse (c), 12-Amdy Faye, 19-Papa Bouba Diop, 7-Henri Camara, 11-El Hadji Diouf, 18-Pape Thiaw.
Sweden: 1-Magnus Hedman, 2-Olof Mellberg, 15-Andreas Jakobsson, 16-Teddy Lucic, 4-Johan Mjallby (c), 6-Tobias Linderoth, 7-Niclas Alexandersson (21-Zlatan Ibrahimovic, 76), 8-Anders Svensson, 17-Magnus Svensson (18-Mattias Jonson, 100), 10-Marcus Allback (22-Andreas Andersson, 65), 11-Henrik Larsson.
Referee: Ubaldo Aquino (Paraguay).
Topics mentioned in this article
Football
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