After a tense affair at the Saint Petersburg Stadium, Sweden book their place in the quarter-final of the World Cup after edging past Switzerland with a 1-0 win.
It was not the most compelling Round of 16 tie, but Sweden will not mind one bit as progress past the second round of the competition for the first time since 1994.
A fortuitous Emil Forsberg deflection gifted Sweden the lead with 66 minutes on the clock and Janne Andersson’s men held out for a historic victory.
So with all that considered, what did we learn?
1. The Swiss striker conundrum
Consistency up front has been a continuous problem for manager Vladimir Petkovic and one he has struggled to deal with this summer. Tinkering between strikers, he has now started three different forwards to lead the line in Switzerland’s four World Cup matches.
Josip Drmic, the latest front man to be given the nod after scoring in a somewhat trivial match against Costa Rica on the final game of group proceedings, remains the only striker in their ranks to net during their time in Russia.
Against Brazil and Serbia, Haris Seferovic started up top, but to no avail as he fired back-to-back blanks, with the latter match resulting in the Benfica forward being hauled off at half-time after failing to register a single shot. For the match against Costa Rica, Mario Gavranovic was given the starting berth, but he failed to make an impact as Drmic replaced him and netted soon after.
Once more, Petkovic’s frontman failed to stamp his mark on the match, as Drmic registered the fewest number of touches of any player in the first half, despite Switzerland registering 65% possession, and again in the second half his team fired a collective blank and Drmic will remain their only goalscoring striker from the competition.
2. No possession, no problem
It has been a bold tactical decision by Janne Andersson to relinquish possession in favour of a more rigid and structured system; against Mexico it worked a treat, while against Germany the system nearly paid dividends were it not for a late Toni Kroos goal, and once more Sweden have prevailed while only having 32.7% possession.
Despite deploying two strikers in Ola Toivonen and Marcus Berg, the system works by sitting off and stifling the opposition with a hardwired midfield and defensive line that looks to hit the two front men whenever possible.
Johan Cruyff famously remarked that ‘there is only one ball, so you need to have it,’ but Andersson has set his team up so that possession is not necessary in all circumstances, instead he prioritises his side on a well-drilled structure that frustrates the opposition without having the ball.
With the likes of Emil Forsberg and Viktor Claesson, Sweden can break forward with pace, while left-back Ludwig Augustinsson also has the propensity to surge forward. Against either Colombia or England, both sides can expect a frustrating match, but they must be patient.
3. A feeble first-half
There was talk before the match that there must be something about Vladimir Petkovic’s half-time team talks that injects fresh energy and impetus into his side, as they only really seem to get going after the first 45 minutes have concluded – four out of Switzerland’s five World Cup goals have come in the second-half.
The Europeans have in fact fired first-half blanks on three occasions now, against Brazil, Serbia and Sweden respectively; their only strike within the first 45 minutes came against minnows Costa Rica after the nation had already guaranteed their qualification to the knock-out rounds.
Against Serbia they were legless and lacklustre in the first 45, and yet in the second half they produced a performance completely at odds with their first-half display. This afternoon Petkovic’s men certainly dominated the ball as they kept Sweden at arms-length during the opening exchanges, but they rarely challenged Robin Olsen.
Unfortunately for Switzerland fans, Petkovic’s team talk inspiration failed to materialise as his side entered the second half without the same venom or verve they had demonstrated in their previous second-half appearances.
4. Forsberg finally off the mark
It took four matches and 14 attempts on goal but Emil Forsberg has finally netted his first World Cup goal, albeit in slightly fortunate circumstances after his deflected effort found the back of the net. Prior to the goal the RB Leipzig winger had attempted the most shots of any player in the competition without scoring a goal in Russia.
And the Sweden fans will be singing his name long into the night, as the 26-year-old fired his side into their first World Cup quarter-final match since 1994. It took 66 minutes, but he managed to break the deadlock after finding space on the edge of the box before firing past a hapless Yann Sommer.
Emil Forsberg's goal against Switzerland was his 14th shot of the World Cup; no player had had more without scoring in the 2018 tournament.
Finally a break through. pic.twitter.com/bJJMmtLRec
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) July 3, 2018
However, it is not just goals that Janne Andersson is expecting from his talisman, as Forsberg brings so much more to his game than just his final product. A relentless runner, the Leipzig livewire combines his brilliant dribbling ability with an abundance of pace.
For Andersson’s system, it is a beautiful marriage as the Sweden coach can allow his players to sit back and soak up pressure before releasing the pace-merchant to devastate the opposition right-back.
5. Half-century Sweden
Sweden have now played 50 World Cup matches, and only Mexico have played more (57) without ever winning the competition. By doing so, the Scandinavian nation have become only the 11th side to reach such a feat, now joining the pantheon of great footballing nations.
They are certainly not known as a perennial powerhouse in world football, but Sweden have had their moments on the grant stage, notably their World Cup final meeting with Brazil on home soil in 1958, though a Pele masterpiece was the main talking point 60 years ago.
#SWE have won a World Cup knockout game on European soil for the first time since their 3-1 victory against Germany as hosts in the 1958 semi-final.
There's no place like home? There is now. pic.twitter.com/9N1tkjIZex
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) July 3, 2018
And while they have had a number of highly distinguished players to don the famous yellow and blue of Sweden in recent decades – notably Henrik Larsson and Zlatan Ibrahimovic – the match against Switzerland was not the riveting affair fitting for their half-century milestone. Despite this Sweden will not care, as the result is more than fitting for their historic half-century.
The afternoon’s proceedings also witnessed the first competitive meeting between the two nations despite both sides previously locking horns on 29 occasions, with their last exchange coming in 2002.
The post Forsberg finally off the mark: Five things learned from Sweden’s last-16 win vs Switzerland appeared first on Squawka News.
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