Football / World Cup USA '94: Swedes find fantasy land

Bulgaria. .0

Sweden . . .4

SWEDEN may have been unenthusiastic going into the World Cup third-place play-off, but they still produced their best football of the tournament in Pasadena.

'It was a fantastic feeling to go this far,' Sweden's coach, Tommy Svensson, said. 'The bronze medal is the best thing that's ever happened to me as a player or as a coach. It's a great memory.'

The Swedes, some of whom said after the semi-final that the third- place game was unnecessary, struck early with a goal from Tomas Brolin, and scored three more in a 10-minute spell before half-time to complete their best World Cup showing since finishing runners-up in 1958.

But Bulgaria showed little of the form which had brought victories over Argentina and Germany.

SWEDEN (4-4-2): Ravelli (IFK Gothenburg); R Nilsson (Helsingborg, capt), P Andersson (Borussia Monchengladbach), Bjorklund, Kamark (both IFK Gothenburg); Brolin (Parma), Mild (Servette), Schwarz (Arsenal), Ingesson (PSV Eindhoven); Larsson (Feyenoord), K Andersson (Lille). Substitute: Limpar (Everton) for Larsson, 78.

BULGARIA (4-4-2): Mikhailov (Mulhouse, capt); Kiryakov (Lerida), Hubchev (Levski Sofia), Ivanov (Neuchatel Xamax), Zvetanov (Levski Sofia); Lechkov (Hamburg), Yankov, Sirakov (both Levski Sofia), Balakov (Sporting Lisbon); Kostadinov (Porto), Stoichkov (Barcelona). Substitutes: Kremenliev (Levski Sofia) for Ivanov, 43; Nikolov (Levski Sofia) for Mikhailov, h/t; Yordanov (Sporting Lisbon) for Sirakov, h/t.

Referee: Ali Mohamed Bujsaim (UAE).