Mexico vs Sweden: Victor Lindelof performance shows Manchester United’s search for a new centre back could be a waste, scouting report

Lindelof's composed performance was a breath of fresh air after a poor first season

Sweden were coming into the final group stage game looking to steal a place in the round of 16 away from defending World Cup champions Germany. All eyes were on Victor Lindelöf and the Swedish backline to put a stop to the winning streak of Mexico and contain them.

The Manchester United centre-back has not had the impressive season he was expected to have. The 23-year-old has struggled for the side which lead to him starting just 13 games during the season after joining the club last summer from Benfica for £31.5m.

The second appearance he made for the club in a league match was when he came on for Phil Jones 23 minutes into a game against Huddersfield. He made several mistakes in the game, two of which allowed Huddersfield to score and take the game 2-1.

It appears that Lindelöf’s struggles for Manchester United were exclusive playing for his club. He has performed quite well for his country in the run up to the World Cup. In the last five World Cup qualifying matches Lindelöf and the Swedish defence kept a clean sheet, the most impressive of which was during both legs of the play-offs against Italy.

Lindelöf had a strong performance against Germany, he looked calm and in control next to his captain Andreas Granqvist. The Swedish backline held off the defending champions to the best of their ability but they conceded a late goal to a Toni Kroos free-kick.

Against Mexico, during a VAR decision, Lindelöf demonstrated a wise head on young shoulders by pulling team-mate Sebastian Larsson, who had already been shown a yellow, out of the face of an opponent.


 
 (REUTERS)

Lindelöf and the Swedish back line held the previously rampant Mexican forward for the whole 90 minutes. It was a stoic defensive display against a Mexican side that had been performing quite well, even beating the defending champions – although on second viewing it sounds better than it was after their humble elimination.

The impressive defensive play continued into the second half which opened the doors for his team to go on the attack. Lindelöf continued his track record of keeping things under control for Sweden and was seen frequently in communication with Granqvist as well as shouting orders and commanding the rest of the defence.

Several times Lindelöf put the pressure on attacking Mexican players which stopped their attack dead in its tracks. He routinely worked in sync with his teammates to stop attacks before they could develop. One major opportunity came for Mexico 80 minutes into the game where Lindelöf stepped out of the direction of the ball but the Mexican players couldn’t capitalise.

Lindelöf and the Swedish defence continually forced Mexico to take their shots where they could. This meant they were typically shooting from outside the penalty area or from an unfavourable angle.

While Manchester United are scratching around everywhere and anywhere, under Jose Mourinho’s orders, for a new centre-back, they would do well to re-watch Lindelof’s reassured performance in helping Sweden top Group F.