Andersson praises Swedish ‘warriors’ as Poles are sent home while Spain hit five
Sweden head coach Jan Andersson described his players as "warriors" after their 3-2 win against Poland earned them top spot in Group E.
Spain thrashed Slovakia 5-0 to progress to the last 16 in second place, but was the Swedes who finished top thanks to Viktor Claesson's stoppage-time winner in St Petersburg.
Emil Forsberg's double had given Sweden a 2-0 lead and, after Robert Lewandowski's brace had hauled Poland level, Claesson snatched victory in a dramatic finale.
"It's a fantastic thing that we won the group," Andersson told a press conference. "We won the group at the (2018) World Cup and we're really happy that we've done it again.
"I'm happy with the team effort. They are warriors. They fought for 90 minutes in this game and I'm really happy with it.
"They are fantastic players and the way they sacrificed themselves for each other – the team as a whole deserves all the praise they get. It's a fantastic feeling."
Andersson saluted RB Leipzig forward Forsberg, who followed up his winning penalty in Sweden's opening group win against Slovakia with two more crucial strikes.
"I said it's a nice stadium to be playing at and he thought that was funny," Andersson added. "He likes to do these things. He fights and keeps on going and makes the difference for us.”
Poland head coach Paulo Sousa felt his side had not done themselves justice after finishing bottom of the group with just one point and that several players had not been fully fit.
"We have a good number of injuries, key injuries, and it's important to put it in perspective," he aid.
"We deserved much more than what we got, but we need to be much stronger in the near future."
Enrique was under increasing scrutiny after draws in their opening two Group E matches but poor opponents and a goalkeeping howler from Newcastle's Martin Dubravka made their passage more than comfortable. "It's a relief of course – I don't know about a liberation,” he said.
Own goals from Dubravka and Juraj Kuka book-ended strikes from Aymeric Laporte - his first in international football - Pablo Sarabia and Ferran Torres and set up a last-16 tie with Croatia.