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22.03.2013 at 20:45 Solna / Friends Arena, Stockholm Attendance: 49436
Sweden 0 - 0 Republic of Ireland
Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (Spain) World Cup Qualifier / Prog-match

Goalscorers
None None.
Opening squads
Andreas Isaksson;
Mikael Lustig,
Jonas Olsson,
Andreas Granqvist,
Behrang Safari,
Rasmus Elm,
Sebastian Larsson,
Kim Kallstrom,
Zlatan Ibrahimovic,
Tobias Hysen,
Alexander Kacaniklic.
David Forde
Ciaran Clarke
Seamus Coleman
Marc Wilson
Paul Green
John O'Shea
James Mc Carthy
Shane Long
Jon Walters
James Mc Clean
Robbie Keane
Substitutes
Jimmy Durmaz,
Ola Toivonen
Anders Svernsson,
Johan Wiland,
Erton Fejzullahu,
Per Nilsson,
Pontus Wernbloom,
Oscar Wendt,
Samuel Holmen,
Ergan Zengin,
Kristoffer Nordfeldt
Keiren Westwood
Darren Randolph
Darren O'Dea
Sean St Ledger
Stephen Kelly
Wesley Hoolahan
Robert Brady
Jeff Hendrick
Conor Sammon
Simon Cox
Andrew Keogh
Substitutions
Mikael Antonsson for Lustig 46 mins,
Ola Toivonen for Hysen 73mins,
Jimmy Durmaz for Larson 75 mins,
Wesley Hoolahan -> Robbie Keane (77)
Andrew Keogh -> James Mc Clean (77)
Conor Sammon -> Shane Long (88)
Yellow cards
None Paul Green (40)
James Mc Carthy (76)
Seamus Coleman (77)
Red cards
None None.
Other statistics
0 Shots 0
0 Shots on goal 0
0 Offsides 0
0 Corner kicks 0
0 Free kicks 0
0 Penalties 0
Match report
Sweden 0 Republic of Ireland 0

The Republic of Ireland hopes of qualifying for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Finals in Brazil got a major boost tonight in Stockholm when Giovanni Trapattoni's side held Sweden to a scoreless draw at the Friends Arena.

Roared on by 3,000 Irish fans in the indoor stadium Ireland produced an excellent performance to win a point and set up Tuesday night's qualifier against Austria at the Aviva Stadium.

There were changes to the selected Ireland starting line-up before the game. Glenn Whelan was ruled out through injury and replaced by James McCarthy while Jonathon Walters came in for Robbie Brady as Trapattoni opted for his physical presence in the absence of Whelan.

Trapattoni's request to have the roof at the Friend's Arena was rejected by the FIFA Commissioner so while was chilly outside it was much more pleasant inside and the Irish certainly warmed to the occasion from the first whistle.

They started brightly and one excellent passing movement ended with Robbie Keane picking out Jonathon Walters at the far post but he just couldn't make proper contact with the ball while a few minutes later Keane miskicked when picked out by James McClean from a corner.

In the 10th minute a James McCarthy interception released Shane Long but he blazed over from the edge of the penalty area when he would have been looking to at least hit the target.

Sweden's first chance came in the 22nd minute when a deep cross from the right was headed down by Zlatan Ibrahimovich to Tobias Hysen whose left footed volley from the edge of the box produced a flying save from Forde. The keeper then produced another stunning stop three minutes later when he went full length to tip a free kick from Kim Kallstrom around his right-hand post.

The Swedes were enjoying the better of the chances at this stage and after 36 minutes Ibrahimovic saw his shot deflected past the Irish post by John O'Shea and then the PSG striker headed wide from the corner after Forde had come and failed to collect.

The second half was a lot tighter with neither side creating a clear cut chance until deep into injury time when a long Swedish free-kick fell invitingly for Alexander Kacaniklic inside the Irish box but his shot was brilliantly saved by Forde, albeit at the expense of a corner. But the Galway man then rose highest to claim the final kick of the game.

Ireland picked up three yellow cards during the game as Paul Green was booked just before half-time for a foul on Kacaniklic while James McCarty got his for trying to stop a free kick being taken quickly and then Seamus Coleman was yellow carded for not taking one quickly enough.

Ireland brought on Wes Hoolahan for Robbie Keane on 77 minutes and he looked lively during his short spell on the pitch while Andy Keogh came on for James McClean and Conor Sammon replaced Shane Long in the final ten minutes,.

James McCarthy was the 3 Man of the Match and after the game he said he was delighted with the performance and the result. "They are doing well in the group and it's a massive point to come here and get. We had a couple of half-chances and we could have sneaked it in the end but to come here and the manner in which we played was sheer class."

Giovanni Trapattoni was also happy with the result. "We showed very well, with confidence, with good personality, with good determination. We deserved the result. The performance was very, very good, particularly McCarthy. I am very happy."

And he believes the result will provide a good platform for Tuesday's game against Austria. "The positive result allows us to take more confidence especially for the young players," said Trapattoni.

There were two other games in the group tonight with Germany beating Kazakhstan 3-0 in Astana and Austria beat the Faroe Islands 6-0 in Vienna.

Republic of Ireland: David Forde; Seamus Coleman, John O'Shea, Ciaran Clark, Marc Wilson; Jonathon Walters, Paul Green, James McCarthy, James McClean (Andy Keogh 83); Robbie Keane (Wes Hoolahan 77), Shane Long (Conor Sammon 87)

Sweden: Andreas Isaksson; Mikael Lustig (Mikael Antonsson 46), Jonas Olsson, Andreas Granqvist, Behrang Safari, Rasmus Elm, Sebastian Larsson (Jimmy Durmaz 87), Kim Kallstrom, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Tobias Hysen (Ola Toivonen 73), Alexander Kacaniklic.
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