Swedish coach Andersson puts teamwork over creative skills

ST PETERSBURG: Sweden’s Emil Forsberg was emotional after his second-half strike sealed victory to send his team into its first quarterfinal since 1994 in the United States.

“I’m so proud to see what we’re achieving together,” Forsberg said. “It brings tears to my eyes.”

Sweden’s route to the quarters has not been easy. They saw off Italy and Netherlands in qualifying, before finishing above Germany and Mexico in Group F.

What they have lost in the individual brilliance of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, they appear to have gained in grit and collective spirit. Their next opponents would be foolish to take them lightly.

“The team fighting for the team is what prevails out on the pitch,” Sweden coach Janne Andersson said.

The one blemish on the victory was a yellow card for defender Mikael Lustig, who will be suspended for Saturday’s quarters.

“(Forsberg) has developed in terms of the holistic approach to his game,” Andersson said. “Even if he doesn’t succeed in every part of his game, he does very well.” That was a fair assessment of the the RB Leipzig midfielder’s contribution before and after his goal.

Andersson is not unduly troubled by his team’s lack of creativity. “We know that we’re a good team, we’ve earned our successes. We know how we’ve got this far,” he said. “What other teams and countries think about that, you’ll have to ask them.”

Swiss coach Vladimir Petkovic said: “We’re sorely disappointed, we wanted to do more. They have done precisely what they are very good at and that was enough to beat us.”