Sweden must beat Malta today to maintain their slim hope of reaching the World Cup finals after losing a crucial qualifying match to group leaders Denmark.
The Swedes are in fourth spot in Group 1 and on the verge of being eliminated so anything but a victory against Malta would be disastrous for coach Lars Lagerback’s team.
Lagerback has called up Swedish league top scorer Tobias Hysen of IFK Goteborg after veteran striker Henrik Larsson left the squad following Saturday’s 1-0 loss to Denmark because of the death of his brother.
Hysen — the son of former Liverpool defender Glenn Hysen — is likely to start on the bench with Inter’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic leading the attack with either Marcus Berg of Groningen or Bolton’s Johan Elmander.
Malta come to Ullevi stadium in Goteborg with nothing but pride to play for, having lost six of seven matches in the qualifying campaign. Their only point came in a 0-0 draw with Albania.
“We will have full respect and not underestimate them,” Lagerback said.
A missed penalty and a defensive error saw Sweden drop three points to the Danes on Saturday.
A win against Malta would leave Sweden trailing Denmark by seven points and second-placed Hungary by four.
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
RSS