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ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) – The heir to Zlatan Ibrahimovic has finally delivered for Sweden at the World Cup.
Emil Forsberg scored a deflected goal in the 66th minute to give the Swedes a 1-0 victory over Switzerland on Tuesday and a spot in the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time in 24 years
Shy and discreet, the 26-year-old Forsberg could not be more different than the greatest Ibrahimovic, who led the Swedish team for more than one year. In 1965, Forsberg arrived in Russia by bearing the creative burden left by Ibrahimovic after his retirement two years ago, and the attacking midfielder's abilities and pioneering pace were at St Petersburg Stadium. 19659002] His goal was dilapidated, however. After pbading Granit Xhaka, Forsberg did not have much power behind his shot from the periphery of the zone and he was probably heading towards Swiss goalkeeper Yann Sommer. However, it took a deviation of the center back Manuel Akanji and bounced back into the net.
It was enough to make Sweden the fifth European team to reach the quarter-finals. The Swedes will play Saturday in Samara, either in England or in Colombia.
The last time Sweden qualified for the World Cup in 1994, the team reached the semi-finals
. The Swiss, who have reached the last 16 of four of the last five World Cups, have been eliminated without scoring a goal. They did not score in a knockout match in the biggest soccer tournament in 64 years, when they reached the quarter-finals at home in 1954.
They finished the match with 10 men after the return Michael Lang was sent off for misconduct on Sweden's substitute Martin Olsson. The referee first gave a penalty kick but then gave a free kick to the edge of the area after a video overhaul.
Switzerland was lucky enough to be alive
Ibrahimovic, 36 years old and now playing his illustrious career in the United States, would certainly have dismissed some of his compatriots' chances of facing a fragile Helvetic defense that was missing Fabian Schaer and Stephan Lichtsteiner suspended.
Striker Marcus Berg was the biggest culprit, pushing Albin Ekdal open the score relentlessly, but the Swedes were limited but played with the forces that allowed them to pbad Italy in the playoffs of the World Cup and reach the top of a group. containing the defending champion Germany, Mexico and South Korea. Their long balls caused panic and they were more optimistic in their midfield game.
The Swiss certainly did not play as one of the sixth-ranked teams in the world and with only one defeat in their last 25 games. Their play of preparation was sloppy, Remo Freuler managed the best goal of the head thanks to a head at the end of the match saved by Robin Olsen
SUSPENDED
Sweden back Mikael Lustig will miss the quarter-finals after having harvested his second yellow card. the tournament for a shot on Josip Drmic in the first half.
The team will have Sebastian Larsson back a ban, however, and the midfielder should wait to return directly to the starting lineup.
BIG BLUNDERS
A poor-quality match presented some of the worst finishes seen so far at the World Cup, and two efforts stood out
Lustig dragged an attempt at long Reached in the first half on the side and he came out for a throw-in. Then, in the second half, Xhaka lined up a shot from outside the area and nearly touched the target.
VAR WATCH
The video badistant referee had another success. The decision of the referee Damir Skomina to award the penalty late against Lang seemed correct at that time, but a review showed that Olsson was just out of the box when he was caught.
This did not matter, however. Switzerland did not have the opportunity to go to the other end after the resulting free kick was saved.
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More AP World Cup coverage: www.apnews.com/tag/WorldCup
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Steve Douglas is at www.twitter.com/sdouglas80
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