Sweden and the Netherlands have both qualified directly for Euro 2012 after an amazing game of football in Stockholm which saw two teams forego anything in the way of defending and just batter each other for ninety minutes. The Dutch didn't much care what happened in the match, of course - they were already guaranteed of the top spot in Group E, but the hosts could ensure automatic qualification with a win and they made it clear that they were going for one from the start.
Sweden Vs. Netherlands, Euro 2012 Qualifying: Hosts Earn Win, Place In Summer’s Tournament
Kim Kallstrom got them off on the right foot with a 25 yard strike past Swansea City goalkeeper Michel Vorm, but that goal was quickly cancelled out through Klaas-Jan Huntelaar's header ten minutes later. After half time, things got really interesting, with Dirk Kuyt knocking home a rebound to spark a crazy period that saw three goals scored in as many minutes. Straight from the kickoff, Sweden won a penalty thanks to Jeffrey Bruma handling the ball in the box, and no sooner had Sebastian Larsson swept it home than the hosts had added another goal, this time with Ola Toivonen stroking home from the edge of the box after the ball broke lose.
Turning the score from 1-2 to 3-2 in their favour failed to curtail Sweden’s attacking instinct and they continued to bomb forwards whenever they could, although Holland were mostly giving as good as they got in a match that just wouldn’t stop happening. Huntelaar had a possible equaliser well saved by Andreas Isaksson and Rasmus Elm saw an audacious 50 yard free kick tipped over by Vorm before Cuneyt Cakir signalled for three minutes of injury time - minutes that were successfully navigated by the hosts to put them through as the best second place team in Euro 2012 qualifying.
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