Nineteen minutes after kickoff in the biggest match of his professional career, Gustav Svensson stood at midfield ready to check in.
His Swedish teammate Jakob Johansson, who scored in the first leg against Italy in the home-and-home FIFA World Cup Qualifying Playoff, tore his ACL and exited early, paving an opportunity for Svensson to try and send his country to the international promise land.
“It all happened so fast,” Svensson said on Wednesday when he returned to Seattle Sounders training. “I didn’t even have time to warm up. I just put my jersey on, the coach gave me some directives and I just went in.