‘Messiah’ Isak inspires Swedes
Emil Forsberg converted a 77thminute penalty to give Sweden a 1-0 victory over Slovakia in St Petersburg yesterday.
Substitute Robin Quaison was brought down by Slovakia keeper Martin Dubravka as he ran in on goal from Alexander Isak’s deft flick.
Isak’s second-half performance illuminated an otherwise tough-towatch match.
The 21-year-old striker is in his first major tournament after a breakthrough season at Spanish club Real Sociedad — where he is nicknamed the Swedish Messiah.
Sweden have four points in Group E, and that should be enough to advance to the round of 16.
In Glasgow, Czech Republic forward Patrik Schick scored from the penalty spot for his tournamentleading third goal in a 1-1 draw against Croatia.
But Ivan Perisic made sure to
keep Croatia alive at the tournament when volleyed past Czech keeper Tomas Vacl´ık.
Both teams still have a chance to advance to the round of 16 from
their final Group D matches on Wednesday. The Croats next face Scotland at Hampden, while the Czechs play England at Wembley.