THE FORS IS WITH US
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SWEDEN manager Janne Andersson has warned England: Underestimate us at your peril.
Emil Forsberg’s deflected effort after 66 minutes saw off Switzerland to clinch a first quarter-final place for his nation for 24 years.
And after topping a group that included Germany, Andersson insists his side fear no one as he sets his sights on stunning the Three Lions in their quarter-final clash.
He said: “It’s about taking the next step. We are not satisfied. We want to win the next match.
“We have earned our successes, we know how we got this far. We have worked this way throughout.”
Andersson’s reconfigured side were way too good for an awful Switzerland team.
Had Sweden taken their chances Vladimir Petkovic’s men would have been smashed up at the Zenit Arena. Marcus Berg, Albin Ekdal and man of the match Forsberg all missed opportunities.
When Forsberg did score, in the 66th minute, his goal was a hugely deserved one. He’d spent most of the previous 65 minutes opening up the Swiss at will.
He got lucky when he scored as his
SWEDEN
shot from outside the box took a deflection off defender Manuel Akanji but he earned it.
Switzerland will be disappointed at showing so little with so much at stake.
They ended the match with 10 men after Michael Lang was dismissed in injury time for a push on Martin Olsson who was clean through on goal.
The referee initially gave a penalty but changed his decision to a free-kick after a review.
That will not bother the Swedes, who have reached the last eight for the first time since 1994.
How Zlatan Ibrahimovic must be frustrated at not being a part of this. How he must be gutted at missing out on a World Cup party that now travels to Samara on Saturday for the quarter-finals with the trophy there for the taking.
The one sour note for the Swedes was the booking for Celtic defender Mikael Lustig that rules him out of the England game.
But afterwards boss Andersson’s message was obvious for the people who feared his players would struggle without superstar Ibrahimovic.
He said: “This is an excellent team. Football is a team sport and this team really personifies that approach.
“I’m not going to talk about before. We talk about now and this squad and they are doing it great together.”
Gutted Switzerland coach Petkovic admits his men weren’t good enough.
He said: “We’re sorely disappointed, the whole team is. We clearly wanted to do more. We should have done better but were simply below par.
“In the games Sweden have been involved in, opponents have had a hard time developing the momentum you need.
“In the last 10 or 15 minutes, we tried to play with more emotion and it went better but it wasn’t enough.”