Friends Arena

Stadium: Friends Arena
Club: AIK Fotboll
Info: The largest stadium in the Nordics and the home of the Swedish National Team
Capacity: 54.329 (all-seater, 50.653 International matches)
Surface: Grass
Location: In Solna just north of Stockholm
Address: Råsta Strandväg, Solna
Visited: 10. November 2017. World Cup Play-off 1. leg. Sweden – Italy 1-0 Goal: Jakob Johansson Att: 49.193

Comment: It was certainly all to play for when Sweden and Italy met in the first of two matches to decide which team secured a spot in the 2018 World Cup in Russia. In advance it was expected to be an even encounter and it turned out to be exactly that. Italy could have taken a shock lead when Andrea Bellotti saw his free header go just wide in the opening minutes. After that, the first half was checks and balance.

After the interval, Italy tried to raise the tempo. The guest controlled more and more of the play and had a lot of corners. But it was Sweden that took the lead. A shot from the substitute Jakob Johansson took a deflection and sailed in behind Gianluigi Buffon. Friends Arena exploded (See video below). After that, Italy continued to push for a goal. Matteo Darmian came closest when he struck the post (See video below). Sweden held on and secured an important 1-0 victory , as Friends Arena was rocking in joy.

2. visit: 23. July 2023. Allsvenskan (1.tier): AIK – Malmö FF 0-0 Att: 26.736

Comment: One of the biggest matches in Swedish football, as AIK took on the visitors from Malmö. Tremendous atmosphere in the stands with a lot of pyros and tifos. It all went crazy when the AIK ultras set fire to a Malmö banner. Resulting in the match being stopped for 45 minutes due to crowd trouble, involving ultras from both clubs. On the pitch Malmö went closest when they struck the post in added time. AIK fought hard and in the end, a draw was probably a fair result on Friends Arena.

Club website: www.aikfotboll.se

County: Stockholm – Sweden