Guardian report: Sweden 1-0 Switzerland
David Hytner was at the St Petersburg Stadium to watch Sweden see off Switzerland. This is how he saw events unfold.
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Janne Andersson finally comes out to bask in the love of his fans... pic.twitter.com/BpCdq2ueYe
— Gabriele Marcotti (@Marcotti) July 3, 2018
Rate! Rate! Rate! Rate!
You can rate the players from Sweden’s win over Switzerland with our handy interactive. My man of the match was probably Andreas Granqvist, who was an absolute rock in the heart of Sweden’s defence despite playing in the knowledge that his wife is due to give birth today. Kudos also to Ola Toivonen, who was as toothless as most of his team-mates, but probably deserves an extra point or two as a birthday present. He turns 32 today.
Match report: Sweden 1-0 Switzerland
Here’s our snap report from the St Petersburg Stadium. We’ll have a more considered take along shortly for your reading pleasure.
Late excitement in St Petersburg: Just to return to that late, late incident that helped Sweden see out the clock. Under intense pressure from Switzerland, they attacked on the break. The ball was played to Olsson and the substitute was was able to outpace Michael Lang as he bore down on the Swiss penalty area.
Lang shoved him in the small of the back a yard or two outside the Swiss penalty area and Olsson lost his footing and stumbled before going down inside the penalty area. The ref pointed to the spot and dismissed Lang, before consulting his pitchside monitor and overturning his own penalty decision and awarding a free-kick instead. Sweden didn’t particularly care and Lang’s red card still stood.
Full-time! Sweden 1-0 Switzerland
Peep! Peep! Peeeeeeeep! A game that was extremely low on quality, but quite entertaining nonetheless ends with Sweden advancing to the quarter-finals courtesy of a heavily deflected goal from Emil Forsberg. A stout display of defending followed and it was enough to see them into the last eight of the World Cup, where they will meet Colombia or England.
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90+7 min: Toivonen takes an excellent free-kick which is saved by Yann Sommer. It’s the last action of the game - it’s all over and Sweden have won.
90+5 min: PENALTY OVERTURNED! Sweden have a free-kick a foot outside the Swiss penalty area, straight in front of goal. Michael Lang’s red card still stands.
90+3 min: Sweden counter-attack and Martin Olsson is put clean through on goal. Michael Lang shoves him to the ground and is sent off. The push, in my opinion, came outside the box. The referee is checking on VAR. I’d say this penalty will be overturned.
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90+3 min: SWEDEN PENALTY!!!
90+2 min: The Swiss go forward again, only for another Shaqiri cross to be headed clear by Granqvist.
90+1 min: CLOSE FOR SWITZERLAND! Ricardo Rodriguez curls a cross from the left touchline to the near post. Seferovic gets a flick on the ball and Robin Olsen is down quickly to save.
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90 min: Sweden substitution: Isaac Thelin on, Marcus Berg off. There’ll be three minutes of added time.
89 min: Olsson and Toivonen take the corner short, but soon after, the ball goes out of play for a goal kick.
87 min: Martin Olsson gallops up the left flank and picks up a pass as Sweden embark on a counter-attack. Sweden win a throw-in, deep in Swiss territory. Olsson throws the ball to Toivonen, who wins a corner. An excellent time-wasting opportunity for the Swedes here.
85 min: Ricardo Rodriguez does well to dig the ball out from under his own feet on the byline and loop the ball across the face of the Swedish goal. There’s nobody on hand to convert, but he wins his side a corner. An impromptu game of penalty area pinball ensues, the ball’s half-cleared and once again, Shaqiri overhits a curled cross into the box.
83 min: Relentless pressure from Switzerland, but Sweden are holding firm for now. Martin Olsson has obviously been brought on to help shore up their defence, while Mikael Lustig has been forced off with cramp. Emil Krafth is a like-for-like swap for the right-back.
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81 min: Sweden double-substitution: Emil Krafth and relegation specialist Martin Olsson on, Mikael Lustig and Emil Forsberg off.
79 min: Shaqiri takes the corner, sending the ball towards the far post. Embolo gets his head to the ball, Forsburg blocks it a foot or two from the line and Granqvist hacks clear.
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78 min: Something of a scramble in the packed Sweden penalty area, which results in a corner for the Swiss.
77 min: Sweden take the corner, the ball breaks to Claesson, but the bounce isn’t kind. He hooks it back into the mixer, but the ball goes out of play for a goal-kick.
76 min: Sweden win a corner moments after Viktor Claesson takes a dive in the Swiss penalty area.
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75 min: Switzerland win another corner, which Ricardo Rodriguez sends towards Akanji. Sweden clear courtesy of Granqvist. The ball breaks to Shaqiri outside the penalty area, who again tries to pick out Akanji. His pass is overcooked and the ball goes out of play.
73 min: Swiss double-substitution: Embolo and Seferovic on for Zuber and Dzemaili.
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72 min: From the corner, Sweden half-clear their lines before finally alleviating a period of sustained pressure.
71 min: Switzerland win a free-kick about 40 yards from the Sweden goal. Ricardo Rodriguez floats the ball into the mixer, where Xherdan Shaqiri has a shot put out for a corner. From that, they win another one.
69 min: Albin Ekdal has a shot from distance for Sweden. His effort fizzes over the bar. Shortly after Sweden scored, Granit Xhaka was booked for a tactical foul on Viktor Claesson.
67 min: Emil Forsberg picks up a pass on the edge of the penalty area and hits a low drive that’s going straight in the direction of Swiss goalkeeper Yann Sommer. Swiss defender Manuel Akanji sticks out a foot, the ball takes a deflection and sails past the completely wrong-footed keeper. Sweden lead.
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GOAL! Sweden 1-0 Switzerland
Forsberg fires Sweden ahead in the 66th minute. If you tempt fate for long enough ...
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65 min: There seems to be a very real possibility that this match will go to a penalty shoot-out and an even more real one that neither team will actually score any of their spot-kicks.
64 min: Forsberg takes the free-kick and smashes the ball straight into the two-man defensive wall. Zlatan Ibrahimovic must be in stitches laughing at this.
63 min: Risky stuff from Behrami, who risks a second yellow after bringing down Forsberg just to the left of the Swiss penalty area, bringing a Swedish counter-attack to an end in the process.
60 min: Behrami gets booked for a fairly innocuous challenge on Emil Forsberg ... or perhaps for dissent in the wake of being penalised for a fairly innocuous challenge on EMil Forsberg. He’ll miss the next game if Switzerland get through to face Colombia or England in the quarter-finals.
58 min: Albin Ekdal is teed up about 20 metres from the Swiss goal, but miscontrols the pass and blows a decent shooting opportunity. Recent history suggests there’s little or no doubt he’d have shanked it over the bar, but still ... at least give yourself a sporting chance to shank it over the bar.
57 min: Another Swedish throw-in, deep in Swiss territory. It’s taken long by Viktor Claesson, but Ricardo Rodriguez heads clear.
56 min: Sweden’s supporters continue to make noise in the stands as their players advance up the field in instalments, via a series of throw-ins.
55 min: There’s a break in play as Sweden’s Albin Ekdal takes a “moment” to recover from a knock. Throw-in for Switzerland, deep in Sweden territory.
54 min: Switzerland win a succession of corners, none of which amount to much. They keep up the pressure nevertheless, but the Swedish defending is stout.
51 min: Brief panic in the Sweden penalty area as Shaqiri picks up a weighted pass from Josip Drmic. Sweden clear their lines.
48 min: Sweden’s Ola Toivonen hacks a bouncing ball high over the Swiss bar after getting on the end of a knockdown from a cross into the penalty area from the left. Good lord.
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47 min: Sweden win a free-kick, wide on the right. Ludwig Augustinsson sends the ball in to the Swiss penalty area, where Manuel Akanji heads clear.
47 min: Lindelof sends a long ball forward, aiming for Emil Forsberg. Johan Djourou heads clear.
Second half: Sweden 0-0 Switzerland
46 min: Switzerland get the second half going, in a St Petersburg Stadium that is far from full. “We just need to see some composure in the box,” says Phil Neville in his role as pundit alongside Jermaine Jenas and Alex Scott on the UK TV coverage. Here’s hoping we get some ... and a few goals.
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Half-time: Sweden 0-0 Switzerland
The first half ends with the deadlock resolutely unbroken. It’s been reasonably entertaining, but teams are sorely lacking in quality in the final third. They’ve both had chances, with Sweden missing the pick of them.
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45+1 min: Rodriguez crosses into the Sweden penalty area from the left. Olsen punches clear under pressure from Steven Zuber. That’s your lot for the first half.
44 min: Switzerland win a free-kick wide on the left for a Lustig foul on Rodriguez. Shaqiri curls the ball into the penalty area but it’s too near Robin Olsen, who plucks it from the sky.
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43 min: Xherdan Shaqiri gets another good ball into the Sweden box, but there’s nobody there to attack it. Both sides looking very toothless here - if either had a finisher worthy of the name, we’d have a few goals by now.
40 min: A shocking, shocking miss by Albin Ekdal, who sidefoots high over the bar from about six yards out with the goal gaping. Standing in splendid isolation, he got on the end of a cross from the right from Lustig, but elected to volley the cross rather than head it. An astonishing miss that could haunt him to the grave.
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39 min: Sweden win a free-kick about 35 yards from the Swiss goal, on the inside right position. Forsberg’s free-kick takes a deflection off the head of somebody in the Swiss defensive wall and loops wide of the left upright. That could have gone anywhere.
38 min: CHANCE!!! Blerim Dzemaili blasts high over the Sweden cross-bar, aiming for the top right-hand corner after being teed up by a series of one-touch passing around the edge of the penalty area. He should have scored!
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36 min: Switzerland win a corner, the ball going out of play off Svensson. Ricardo Rodriguez sends the ball deep, aiming for Michael Lang. It’s cleared, drops kindly for Shaqiri and he shoots. Mikael Lustig blocks.
35 min: Sweden win a free-kick about 35 yards from the Swiss goal. The ball’s floated towards Granqvist at the far post and he heads it back into the mixer. Switzerland clear.
34 min: Xhaka tires one from distance but sends the ball sailing over the bar.
33 min: Granit Xhaka tries to pick out Xherdan Shaqiri with a raking cross-field pass. The ball sails out over the right touchline, of play.
32 min: Sweden’s Mikael Lustig gets booked, a yellow card that means he will miss the next match if Sweden get through to the quarter-finals. It was a silly, needless foul, a pull on Josip Drmic to prevent the Swiss striker getting to the ball.
28 min: Decent technique from Berg, who got his leg over (so to speak) a bouncing ball and drove a diagonal shot goalwards. It was heading for the corner, but Sommer did extremely well to fling himself to his right and keep the ball out.
27 min: SAVE! Swiss goalkeeper Yann Sommer throws himself to his right to claw away a shot from Marcus Berg that was heading for the bottom corner.
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26 min: A good defensive header from Mikael Lustig prevents Zuber from getting on the end of another delivery into the Sweden penalty area. Michael Lang was the provider on this occasion.
25 min: Zuber sends a cross-field ball towards Shaqiri on the right touchline, but Sweden’s left-back Ludwig Augustinsson intercepts with a meaty header.
24 min: Steven Zuber heads over the bar under pressure after getting on the end of another Shaqiri cross from the right.
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21 min: Switzerland counter-attack with Shaqiri on the ball. He curls across towards Blerim Dzemaili near the far post, but overcooks his pass and the ball goes out of play. Shaqiri has looked dangerous and inventive on the right flank for Switzerland, but needs to align his cross hairs. The watchmakers of the country he is representing will be unimpressed with his lack of precision.
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18 min: Sweden continue to press the Swiss defenders as they attempt to play the ball out from the back. A relatively new innovation brought to the attention of football hipsters by Jurgen Klopp in the past decade, this practice of putting your opponents under pressure was originally invented by the Republic of Ireland under Jack Charlton circa 1986.
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17 min: Granit Xhaka attempts to release Ricardo Rodriguez down the left flank, but overhits his pass. Throw-in for Sweden, deep inside their own half.
15 min: Xherdan Shaqiri curls a cross from the right in towards the head of Valon Behrami. His delivery is a mite too high and the ball sails out of play.
13 min: For a match that was supposed to be incredibly tight, this has been a very open game thus far, punctuated by defensive errors, lively counter-attacks and hideously poor shooting by both sides.
11 min: Shaqiri plays Dzemaili through on the Sweden goal and from a narrow angle, he makes life very easy indeed for Robin Olsen.
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10 min: Panic in the Swiss defence, as they make a mess of a goal-kick and gift possession straight back to Sweden, specifically Berg. A crucial block from Manuel Akanji prevents Sweden from capitalising on the defensive gaffe. Albin Ekdal follows up on the rebound, but shoots high over the bar.
8 min: Marcus Berg is put through on goal and from a narrow angle, takes a wild slash at the ball and sends it hilariously wide and high into the stand. Moments previously, Switzerland’s Steven Zuber had tried to curl a shot past Robin Olsen after cutting inside from the left, but made life easy for the Swedish goalkeeper.
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6 min: Viktor Claesson loses the ball on the edge of his own penalty area, but gets away with it and Sweden gallop upfield on the counter-attack which quickly breaks down.
5 min: Swiss goalkeeper Yann Sommer gets his first touch of the ball after five minutes.
4 min: Switzerland, for the record, are wearing red shirts, white shorts and red socks. Swiss forward Blerim Dzemaili concedes a free-kick in midfield for a shove on Emil Forsberg.
2 min: Granit Xhaka concedes the first foul of the match, knocking Ola Toivonen to the ground. The ball’s floated into towards the far post by Ludwig Augustinsson, where Viktor Claesson attempts to head it across the face of goal. Switzerland clear.
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Sweden v Switzerland is GO!!!
1 min: Emil Forsberg gets the ball rolling for Sweden, whose players line up in yellow shirts, blue shorts and yellow socks. They immediately lose the ball and Switzerland go on the attack. Xherdan Shaqiri tries a speculative shot on goal from distance, but larrups the ball wide.
The coin toss: It’s first blood to Switzerland, whose skipper Valon Behrami calls correctly.
Not long now: The teams emerge from the tunnel and march on to the pitch to the distinctive soundtrack of Seven Nation Army. As any guitar nerd worth his or her salt will tell you, its unique sound was created by running Jack White’s semi-acoustic, 1950s-style Kay Hollowbody guitar through a Digitech Whammy pedal set down an octave. Pondering this fascinating information but hoping it won’t impinge upon their performances, both sets of player line up either side of the match officials and it’s time for the national anthems.
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What can we expect? We discussed this match on last night’s episode of World Cup Football Daily and the general consensus seemed to be that this is one of the most difficult Round of 16 matches to call. Two counter-attacking teams who aren’t the most prolific in front of goal – a 5-5 draw it is, then.
Four changes for Switzerland: Vladimir Petrokovic makes four changes to the side that drew with Costa Rica in the final group game. Michael Lang comes in at right-back for the suspended Stephan Lichtsteiner, while Johan Djourou deputises for Fabian Schar, who will be alongside Lichtsteiner on the Fifa Naughty Step.
Further up the pitch, Steven Zuber is in for Breel Embolo, who travelled home for the birth of his daughter but is now back in Russia. Up front, Josip Drmic, who came off the bench to score against Costa Rica, is rewarded with a starting berth ahead of the disappointing Mario Gavranovic.
Sweden v Switzerland line-ups
Sweden: Olsen, Lustig, Lindelof, Granqvist, Augustinsson, Claesson, Svensson, Ekdal, Forsberg, Berg, Toivonen.
Subs: Johnsson, Olsson, Guidetti, Helander, Hiljemark, Krafth, Jansson, Rohden, Durmaz, Thelin, Nordfeldt.
Switzerland: Sommer, Lang, Djourou, Akanji, Rodriguez, Behrami, Xhaka, Shaqiri, Dzemaili, Zuber, Drmic.
Subs: Mvogo, Moubandje, Elvedi, Embolo, Freuler, Seferovic, Fernandes, Zakaria, Gavranovic, Burki.
Referee: Damir Skomina (Slovenia)
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Swedish team news: Janne Andersson has named his team to face Switzerland and it contains just one change from that which beat Mexico so convincingly. Seattle Sounders midfielder Gustav Svensson comes in for Sebastian Larsson, as expected.
Early team news: Both squads are depleted by suspensions, with Sweden missing midfielder Sebastian Larsson and the Swiss having to make do without defenders Fabian Scahr and Stephan Lichtsteiner. Each of the three players has been shown two yellow cards. The wife of Sweden skipper Andreas Granqvist is due to give birth today, but he looks certain to play anyway.
Round of 16: Sweden v Switzerland
To the shores of the Baltic Sea, where the port city of St Petersburg is the venue for what promises to be an intriguing clash between Sweden and Switzerland. Both countries qualified for Russia via the play-offs and now find themselves in what England fans who really should know better are calling the “easy” side of the draw, with a wonderful opportunity of making the last eight.
This is the first time these sides have ever met in a major tournament and the outcome of this contest is nigh on impossible to call with anything resembling confidence. Kick-off is at 3pm (BST), but stay tuned in the meantime for team news and build-up.
