Sweden bury opening jinx to beat Korea
NIZHNYNOVGOROD:SWEDEN won an opening World Cup game for the first time since 1958 and ended their worrying goal drought with a 1-0 victory over South Korea that was a must-win if they want to progress from a tricky-looking Group F.
After dominating the game but missing a string of chances, Sweden won a 65th-minute penalty when Kim Min-woo brought down Viktor Claesson in the box. Salvadoran referee Joel Aguilar initially waved the Swedes away, before being called to consult the Video Assistant Referee system.
In the second Var-awarded penalty of the World Cup, Sweden’s 33-year-old captain Andreas Granqvist stepped up to sweep the ball low and left of otherwise impressive goalkeeper Cho Hyun-woo.
That fired up the hordes of yellow-clad Swedish fans, who had been fearful their team would misfire again after failing to score in any of their previous three games. Sweden had not won an opening game at any World Cup since 1958, when they were runners-up in their best performance to date.
The Asians actually began the game far brighter, pressing and harrying for the first 15 minutes against an initially sluggishlooking Sweden.
But the Scandinavians quickly found their rhythm, coping comfortably with Korea’s attacks despite the absence of defender Victor Lindelof through illness.
The Swedes created a string of chances, most falling to Marcus Berg, who had one close-range side-foot shot spectacularly saved by Cho off his knee in the 21st minute.
As expected, both teams’ single star players were at the heart of their best moves, the silky Son Heung-min busting a lung to try and drive Korea forward from the left flank, and the pacy Emil Forsberg constantly feeding Sweden’s big frontmen. MOSCOW: A number of Brazil fans who had arrived in Moscow ahead of the 2018 FIFA World Cup had stayed back in the city on the day of their Group E campaign opener against Switzerland in Rostov on Sunday.
“We have not travelled for the first game. Today, we will watch it with our friends in a bar. On Wednesday, we go to Saint Petersburg for Friday’s game (against Costa Rica),” said a Brazilian fan present at the Luzhniki Stadium here on Sunday during Mexico’s shock 1-0 win over defending champions Germany.
A handful of Brazilian fans were present at the ground for the second game of the day at the World Cup. Many more were scattered across the Russian capital.
As Brazil played Switzerland an hour after the Mexico-germany game, most of the Selecao fans were seen on the Tverskaya Street as pubs in the area televised the game on large screens.
At one such pub, a sizeable Brazilian crowd had gathered. As Philippe Coutinho’s curler handed Brazil the lead in the 20th minute, cheers of the fans had drowned the music playing in the background.
The music was stopped, it had become insignificant. For the rest of the first half, Switzerland frustrated Brazil and the mood in the pub got sombre.
A few minutes into the second
We had 20 chances, but too many shots were off target. I put it down to stress, first match nerves. TITE, Brazil coach I hope people will take notice of us, there’s lack of recognition and that’s a pity because we played very well. V PETKOVIC, Switzerland coach
half, after Steven Zuber equalised for the Swiss, the music resumed, Brazilians fell silent.
As discontent grew among Brazilian fans with Switzerland’s rigid defending kept their team at bay, Portuguese expletives were hurled whenever the camera focused on the Swiss players. The referee wasn’t spared either as fans accused him of being too lenient.
Neymar was a persistent target of the Switzerland defence and every time he was brought down, frustration grew. As the match ended, many fans made a quick exit.
“The Swiss played like thugs. But we knew everyone would defend rough against Brazil and we should have done better. This is not how we are going to win the sixth championship,” said Marco, who has travelled from Sao Paulo to cheer his side.