A KEVIN GALLACHER goal, his third in his last two internationals, was not enough to save Scotland from the result they had dreaded at the Ullevi Stadium in Gothenburg.
The Blackburn forward's cool header from Gary McAllister's corner seven minutes from time merely put a respectable sheen on an inadequate team performance on a night when Sweden were in dominant form.
Allowing the home side too much encouragement from the earliest moment, Craig Brown's side suffered their first defeat in the series. To restore their hopes of automatic qualification they must hope the Swedes and Austrians sustain mutual damage when they meet in Vienna in September.
The most meticulous planning cannot neutralise the effects of tension, which clearly stripped the Scots of much of their early rhythm. They managed to resist the onslaught until two minutes from the break, when Kennet Andersson scored. It was the first goal Scotland had conceded in the qualifying series, yet there was almost an air of inevitability about it.
Colin Hendry claimed he was fouled by Andreas Andersson as the ball was played in from the right and he seemed to have a case. But as the tall Blackburn defender hit the ground, the ball bounced out and came to Andersson, whose blistering valley hurtled past Jim Leighton from the edge of the box.
Sweden then seemed to lose their early sense of urgency and the Scots, with Darren Jackson and Gallacher running dangerously on to long balls from Tosh McKinlay and Hendry, bothered the home defence on more than one occasion.
Still, there could be no denying the overall territorial advantage the Swedes enjoyed for inns of the time. Prompted, predictably, by Jonas Thern and Par Zetterberg in midfield Stefan Schwarz was injured and replaced by Hakan Mild after only 12 minutes they were given four good chances by questionable free kick awards.
Zetterberg sent the first harmlessly into the arms of Leighton, but the Scottish goalkeeper had more trouble with the next, a powerful drive from Schwarz which he pushed over the bar. Zetterberg took the third, curling a right foot shot just wide of Leighton's right hand post, and the fourth, which was sent straight into the defensive wall and cleared.
There was no respite for Leighton, however. A corner kick soon afterwards by Zetterberg proved even more dangerous. It was played low to Martin Dahlin, whose left foot shot on the turn was stopped on the line by Paul Lambert.
Kennel Andersson's second goal came after 63 minutes and, again, was no surprise. The Swedes, encouraged by their success just before half time, were just as aggressive during the second.
Patrik Andersson drove only inches wide after receiving a short free kick 20 yards out and Zetterberg finished off Mild's excellent run and pass with a curling right foot shot that thudded against Leighton's crossbar.
There was no escape, however, when Dablin played his fellow striker into the Scots' area with a delightful through ball. Andersson pulled the ball inside Colin Calderwood, cautioned earlier after a little tussle with Dahlin, and beat Leighton with a low, right foot shot.
This goal was all the more painful for the tartan army to take, having closely followed two threatening moments by their team.
The first was created by Gallacher, who spurted past Gary Sundgren on the left and sent in an inviting cross that was missed by Jackson and just failed to reach McAllister. The second opportunity fell to Craig Burley when Thomas Ravelli, winning his 138th cap, completely missed John Collins's centre from the left. The ball ran to Burley, but the Chelsea man rushed his volley and sent, it yards too high.
It was one of several disappointing moments for Scotland on a bad night.
