Swede victory
Sweden book place in World Cup quarterfinals after edging past Switzerland
SWEDEN reached the World Cup quarterfinals for the first time in 24 years after Emil Forsberg’s deflected shot earned a scrappy 1 - 0 win over Switzerland yesterday.
Switzerland’s Michael Lang was sent off in injury-time for a last-ditch push on Martin Olsson and referee Damir Skomina downgraded his penalty to a freekick on the edge of the area. But the game was already up.
Forsberg’s second-half strike, which d e f l e c t e d o f f the unfortunate Manuel Akanji, means Sweden are through to the World Cup last eight for the first time since 1994 in the United States.
Both sides had been hampered by suspensions here too, with Switzerland more badly affected. They were without both Fabian Schaer and captain Stephan Lichtsteiner at t he back, prompting Johan Djourou and Lang to come in.
For Sweden, Gustav Svensson replaced Sebastian Larsson in midfield.
After back-to-back penalty shoot-outs, Brazil versus Mexico a nd Bel g i um’s pul s a t i ng comeback against Japan, there was always a danger this last-16 tie would struggle to deliver, even on low expectations.
It was a contest that lacked quality, particularly in the final third, where both teams were often painfully imprecise.
Victor Lindelof slipped on the ball in the first 10 seconds and that set the tone for the first half, which was largely a collection of mishit passes, heavy touches and skewed shots.
There were chances and Sweden had most of them. Marcus Berg blasted over when set free early on and then saw his finish blocked following a poor clearance by Swiss goalkeeper Yann Sommer.
After a slow start, and Lustig’s foul on Josip Drmic, Switzerland grew in confidence and should have scored when Blerim Dzemaili snatched at Steven Zuber’s pull-back.
At the other end, Albin Ekdal was even closer, and completely free, when he sidefooted Lustig’s cross over.
Rather than let loose, both t eams t i ghtened after t he interval, and Forsberg’s goal came out of the blue. With space on the edge of the box, his dummy did for Granit Xhaka before the shot was helped in by the outstretched foot of Akanji.
Switzerland twice went close to grabbing an equaliser, as Djourou’s header dribbled agonisingly across the goal-line and substitute Haris Seferovic drew a late save from close range.
Olsson was pushed in the back by Lang with only Sommer to beat in injury-time, with Skomina initially awarding a penalty but changing his decision to a freekick after he consulted the replay. Lang’s red card stood and Sweden held on. – AFP