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Son of Red Wings Draft Pick a World Cup Record Setter
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- Son of Red Wings Draft Pick a World Cup Record Setter
The post Son of Red Wings Draft Pick a World Cup Record Setter appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now .
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This is a tale of the World Cup, NASA technology, and the Detroit Red Wings all coming together to contribute to a record-setting goal.
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Sweden whipped Tunisia 5-1 in the opening World Cup match for both clubs. It was a result that cost Tunisian manager Sabri Lamouchi his job. He was fired shortly after the game.
"I was very shocked when I heard that, but we can't attach too much importance to it," Swedish player Mattias Svanberg told Sweden Herald .
Svanberg came on as a substitute in that match. So far, it's been his only appearance on the pitch during the tournament. But he certainly made the most of it.
On his first touch, Svanberg put the ball in the back of the Tunisian net to make it 4-1 for Sweden.
"It's an incredible feeling," Svanberg told Swedish website Aftonbladet . He right-footed Alexander Isak 's cross off a Sweden free kick into the net.
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"I get right to the ball, so it was just a matter of shooting it at goal," Svanberg explained. "I tried to get it towards the far post, and it's difficult for the goalkeeper to react at that distance."
Goal Almost Didn't Count
Svanberg's goal came exactly 18 seconds after he'd entered the match. That made it the second-fastest goal by a substitute in World Cup history and the fastest ever by a European player. In 2002, Uruguay 's Ricardo Morales scored 16 seconds after entering a match against Senegal .
"Unbelievable," Liverpool star Isak said. "What kind of rush is that?"
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Originally, it looked like Svanberg's goal wasn't going to count. It was ruled offside and went to VAR to be checked.
"You just get completely exhausted," Svanberg said. "You've been through it before – that you think you've scored a goal and then it turns out to be offside."
Svanberg can thank the people who made Neil Armstrong the first man on the moon and who built the Space Shuttle for getting that call overturned.
Sensors inside the ball designed by NASA were able to detect that Isak had touched the ball, redrawing the offside line and resulting in Svanberg's goal counting.
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Father was a Red Wings Draftee
Back in Sweden, Bo Svanberg was watching his son's record tally on television.
"It's completely crazy," Bo Svanberg told Sverige Radio . "You just scream out loud."
There was a time when Bo Svanberg was the more famous athlete in the family. A hockey star in Sweden, he was part of four SHL championship clubs during his playing days.
Playing for Farjestads, in 1985, the Red Wings would make center Bo Svanberg the 218th overall choice of what the NHL was then calling the Amateur Draft. He would never play a game for Detroit.
The post Son of Red Wings Draft Pick a World Cup Record Setter appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now .
