Sweden 1-0 Switzerland
A deflected shot from Emil Forsberg fired Sweden into the Quarter Final of World Cup 2018 in a tight contest at St Petersburg.
It’s the first time the Swedes have reached the last eight for 24 years. And they just edged a game in which neither team impressed in attack but both were tough to break down.
Vladimir Petkovic’s Switzerland negotiated Group E with their customary efficiency, winning one and drawing two; and with FIFA Rankings placing them sixth in the world it was no surprise to see them here. But they came into the game without two big characters as captain Stephen Lichsteiner and Fabian Schar were suspended, making way for the young Michael Lang and Johan Djourou.
Sweden won Group F and was desperately unlucky to lose to a 95th minute Toni Kroos strike, as Germany won its only points of the tournament. Janne Anderson’s team was in good shape. Sweden’s 3-0 annihilation of Mexico carried them into the Round of 16 on the crest of a wave of confidence, and skipper Andreas Granqvist has led by example, already scoring two penalties, defending with power and playing on a day in which his wife was about to go into labour!
Highlights of the game
Marcus Berg was a lively presence up front for Sweden, having two early sights of goal, but the opening exchanges were cautious. Stoke City’s attacking midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri has the ability to turn a game in a second and score the key goals, as he proved with a late strike to stun Serbia in a must-win group game. And he was instrumental in most of Switzerland’s early forward play, pinging balls into the box aimed for Steven Zuber, but with little success.
Yann Sommer made the first big save, denying Berg with his fingertips on the half hour, but the biggest chances of the first half came just before the break. First Blerim Dzemaili exchanged passes with Zuber before firing over when he should have scored. And then, at the other end, Mikael Lustig swung over a supercross for the unmarked Albin Ekdal, but the midfielder lost his cool and headed way, way over.
The second half opened up at a decent tempo but efforts on goal were few and far between as both teams tried to convert endeavour into quality.
As we approached the last quarter it looked, for all the world, like we were heading for a goalless draw; and then came the goal the game desperately needed. Sweden’s Emil Forsberg made space for himself on the edge of the box and his low shot ricocheted off the foot of Manuel Akanji and high into the net.
There was a huge slice of luck in the goal but Sweden had got into the position to take advantage, and that’s all that matters.
That prompted Switzerland to push up further and they came close when Breel Embolo got his head to a Shaqiri corner, but captain courageous Granqvist was there to hoof the ball clear. As the Swiss pressed, everything they could throw at Sweden was repelled by a yellow shield.
Sweden keeper Robin Olsen got down well to save from Haris Seferovic in injury time, and that was Switzerland’s last chance before Sweden broke and Martin Olssen charged towards the Swiss goal to be felled by Lang. The referee pointed to the spot and sent Lang off, but the foul was outside the box and VAR awarded a free-kick, which Sommer saved.
This game isn’t going to appear in the World Cup 2018 highlights package, but that won’t worry Janne Anderson and his men one jot.
Key statistics
This was billed as a clash of two un-fancied teams, neither known for its flair; and SBOBET Odds pointed to a tight game, which Sweden won at pre-match odds of 3.10.
Sweden is now unbeaten in four games against Switzerland, though this was their first ever meeting at a Euro or World Cup finals. And it’s only the second time the Swedes have gone past this stage since its home tournament in 1958, that in 1994 when they reached the last four.
Switzerland’s absence from the last eight now stretches to 64 years, but this was only their second defeat in the last 26 matches.
What’s next?
World Cup 2018 predictions have been shot to pieces more than once over the past three incredible weeks. Who would have put their money on Germany, Spain, Argentina and Portugal all being out already? And then did you have a bet on Sweden reaching the last eight? If you did…good on you!
Saturday afternoon, Russia time, at the 45,000 capacity Samara Arena will be the place to be when Janne Anderson’s team meets a firecracker in the Quarter Final.
Whether it will be Colombia with a possibly fit James Rodriguez, or England’s young Lions remains to be seen. But either team will give Sweden more of a run-around than Switzerland did.
But Granqvist and his men will be ready.
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