Sweden draw with Finland 0-0 in World Cup warm-up

GOTHENBURG, Sweden, May 25: Sweden were held to a goalless draw today in an all-Nordic friendly with Finland in their penultimate warm-up game ahead of next month's World Cup finals in Germany.

Sweden, who had opted to rest several first choice players including Henrik Larsson, Freddie Ljungberg, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and first choice keeper Andreas Isaksson, created little in the first half against the Finns who were the more aggressive side.

Finland coach Roy Hodgson's pairing of Alexei Eremenko and captain Jari Litmanen upfront, backed up by midfielder Joonas Kolkka, proved to be a creative move as they outplayed the Swedish defence at times.

Johan Elmander came close to scoring for Sweden in the ninth minute after he rounded Finland's keeper but saw his shot from a tight angle cleared off the line.

Finland's best chance was in the 37th minute when defender Petri Pasanen's free kick from some 30 meters beat keeper John Alvbage only to rebound off the crossbar.

In the second half Sweden improved significantly, pushing the Finns deeper and deeper into their own half.

In the 66th minute Niclas Alexandersson passed to Elmander outside the Finnish penalty area on the right but he shot directly at keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen.

Five minutes later Elmander had a goal disallowed for a foul on the Finnish keeper.

Former Arsenal goalkeeper Rami Shaaban, a surprise inclusion in coach Lars Lagerback's 23-man squad for the finals, made his debut for Sweden in the second half when he replaced Alvbage.

Sweden are grouped with England, Paraguay and Trinidad&Tobago at the World Cup which begins on June 9. They play their last warm-up on June 2 against Chile in Stockholm.

Finland failed to qualify for the finals.

REUTERS