Forsberg’s Lone Goal Sees Sweden Past Switzerland

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Emil Forsberg became the hero as Sweden fought their way into the World Cup quarterfinals by defeating Switzerland.

First Half

The Swiss side dominated in just about every category in the match. They came out hot behind Xherdan Shaqiri, who took the first shot of the match just seconds after the first whistle. Steven Zuber put the first shot on goal in the 7th minute, forcing Robin Olsen to make the save.

Sweden retaliated, putting together four potential scoring opportunities from minutes eight through 14. Marcus Berg made his presence felt in the final third, finding shots to make Switzerland’s defense react.

As the first half progressed, Switzerland settled and pushed Sweden back. However, Sweden’s approach in this World Cup has been just that: allow opponents to maintain possession, sit back and attack when given the chance.

Despite Switzerland’s various attempts at goal, mainly led by Shaqiri (who took shots or assisted in eight of their team’s 18 attempts), failed to bear any fruit.

Second Half

It was in the 66th minute when Sweden executed their plan to perfection. Forsberg dribbled the ball towards left center of the box and fed it over to Ola Toivonen. He then went on to give it back to Forsberg, who dribbled to his right and towards towards the top of center-box and took a wide open shot. Swiss defender Manuel Akanji deflected the ball off his foot and away from keeper Yann Sommer.

The deflected Forsberg goal for #SWE. #WorldCup #TheAOSNWC pic.twitter.com/L83mFV8JL7

— The AOSN FC (@TheAOSNFC) July 3, 2018

Frustration built within the Swiss side. After Sweden’s goal, Switzerland responded with ten shots but only two were on target.

The finishing touch came in the fourth minute of added time, as Michael Lang was shown red after taking down Isaac Kiese Thelin. The initial call was a penalty and VAR changed it to a free kick just outside of the box.

With the victory Sweden will make it to the quarterfinals since the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States, where they ended up in third. They will now wait for the winner of Colombia and England to determine their next opponent.