Tottenham star Lucas Bergvall has admitted he doesn’t need criticism from the Sweden fanbase after his horror miss in the defeat to Switzerland.
Aftonbladet provide comments from the Tottenham midfielder today alongside support from plenty of his teammates.
Sweden were beaten 2-0 by Switzerland on Friday evening in what had been deemed a must-win game for their hopes of qualifying for the World Cup next summer.
It was a tense evening for them as they were booed onto the pitch by their own fans. And that ended up translating onto the pitch as the away side secured all three points.
Bergvall had been handed his chance to impress by Sweden boss Jon Dahl Tomasson with a starting place in the side. The build up in the week had been very much focused on the Tottenham youngster deserving his opportunity.
He ended up with his moment in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons, though. With the score at 0-0 he was presented with a golden chance to open the scoring when Alexander Isak put him in front of an open goal. Instead, the Tottenham man got the ball caught under his feet, allowing Ricardo Rodriguez.
It proved to be a defining moment, for all the wrong reasons. And Bergvall knows there will be criticism. Not that he needs to hear it.
“I misjudge the ball. Of course I’m going to score there. I don’t know what else to say. Sometimes it bounces right, sometimes wrong,” he said.
“Yes, probably. I can’t think of anything else right now. It’s an absolute disappointment,” he added when asked if it was his worst miss ever.
“I don’t think they (the fans) need to say too much about it, I know I’ll do better.”
Fortunately, it seems his teammates have quickly forgiven him. Several came out in the Tottenham man’s defence after the game.
“He is a very all-round player, who has almost all the qualities you need. He has had a great autumn at Tottenham. We have to help each other to get the most out of each other,” said Isak.
“It’s clear that it’s an opportunity, but he will learn. He is extremely talented, and you can see the heights he has,” added Ken Sema.
“Then it’s clear that it’s a bit unlucky that he misses, it’s perhaps one of those chances you usually score on. You’re there to support him, but I think he knows exactly what he needs to improve on in the future.”
“I told him at half-time to forget about it,” concluded Roony Bardghji.
“I can imagine he’s a bit down and it’s tough, but that’s football. That’s what happens. It’s nothing that will affect him.”