MOSCOW, October 8. /TASS/. Russia’s national team lost 1:2 to Sweden in a football friendly at the VEB Arena stadium in Moscow on Thursday.

The goals were scored by Aleksandr Sobolev (90’) of Russia and Alexander Isak (21’) and Mattias Johansson (73') of Sweden.

It was the Russian national team’s first game attended by fans since November 2019.

The game was initially expected to take place in Stockholm on March 28, but was put off due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. When football games resumed after a lengthy pause, the date of the match was set for October 8. However, due to tough restrictions imposed by the Swedish capital’s city authorities, it was decided to hold it in Moscow.

In late September, when Moscow was chosen as a venue, the game at the VEB-Arena stadium was expected to be held among empty stands, in line with requirements of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). However, the European football’s governing body ruled on October 1 that stadiums hosting matches of national teams can be filled up to 30% of their total capacity.

Given VEB-Arena’s 30,450-seat capacity, about 9,137 fans could have attended the game. However, due to the current epidemiological situation in the Russian capital, the Russian Football Union (RFU) decided to cut the number of available tickets to roughly 5,000.

The Russian national team’s press office announced on October 7 that tests for the novel coronavirus of the national side’s players Georgy Dzhikiya and Marinato Guilherme returned suspicious results and both footballers have been isolated from the rest of the national squad.

The press service of the Swedish Football Association told TASS later that day that players of the national football team of Sweden, as well as the coaching and assisting staff, had all tested negative for the novel coronavirus ahead of the friendly match.

The Russian team, led by Head Coach Stanislav Cherchesov, is also scheduled to play two UEFA Nations League group stage matches this month in Moscow, namely against Turkey on October 11 and Hungary on October 14.

It was the ninth encounter between the national football teams of Russia and Sweden, apart from two friendly games in 1913 and 1914, and the first football friendly between the two squads since August 21, 2002.

With two rounds already played, the Russian team is in the top spot of UEFA Nations League Group B with six points, followed by Hungary (three points), Turkey (one point) and Serbia (one point).