World Cup 2018: Sweden eliminates Switzerland and England finally breaks the curse of shots on goal



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The curtain fell Tuesday to the knockout stages of the 2018 World Cup with the last two posters that saw Sweden qualify for the quarter-finals for the first time since 1994 at the expense of Switzerland (1-0) and England break the curse on penalties by eliminating Colombia (4 tab 3, 1-1 ap).

Here's what to remember from the 20 th day of the great Mass of World Football:

England finally broke the curse

For a time, England has necessarily thought it was cursed. She had been running for more than half an hour when Yerry Mina came up after three minutes of extra time to take her into an uncertain extra time. It's been 28 years since the Three Lions won a knockout game after more than 90 minutes, and they had six failures over their last seven penalty shoot-outs. Everything in their history meant their exit in the 8th finals of the World Cup, at the same stage as the Euro 2016 against Iceland, including the failure of Jordan Henderson, the first to fail in this session. But Jordan Pickford took the big game to reverse the course of a script that seemed written in advance. Two parades in a row, a final shot on goal transformed by Eric Dier and England has finally defeated the sign. The Indian Signs

For 80 minutes, Gareth Southgate's troupe had Overall mastered a match chopped and tense, between two teams who went shot for blow, in the true sense of the word, with blows of vice everywhere, mostly escaping the vigilance of a referee exceeded. The English had more of the ball, the best chances, even if they had to get around a consistent opponent block, and managed to get some Colombians out of the way, like Radamel Falcao. But the Three Lions stopped playing too early and gave the opportunity to Cafeteros, indigent offensively until then, to return to the match. They snatched the equalizer on a set kick, their strong point since the opening of the World Cup, and relaunched an encounter that suddenly rocked into madness after purring for a long time.

It was not the biggest 8th finals, both in intensity and technical quality, but its dramaturgy reached new heights during the extension. Colombia dominated the first period, then England took over, before the outcome favorable to partners Harry Kane, more than ever top scorer of the competition. With a quarter-final coming against Sweden, his country has never seemed so close to reaching the last four of a World since 1990. His curse in games going beyond the 90th minute lasted since date, she had it shattered with his win on Tuesday. And if it was a sign? Answer in four days, a minimal time for England to recover from the fight she had to lead.

Switzerland stumbles on Swedish iceberg and leave the World Cup!

Sweden will certainly not be the most talented selection of the quarter-finals. But against Switzerland, the men of Janne Andersson have shown that their values ​​could take them much further. Insubmersible defensively, solid in midfield, Blågult made the difference thanks to the talent of Emil Forsberg, a player apart from the Scandinavian team, author of a goal full of success after the hour of play. They will face England in the quarterfinals. The Nati, without inspiration, logically leaves the competition.

Sweden is remained faithful to what it is since the beginning of this World Cup. Without real genius but with a lot of envy, impact and commitment, she quickly took care to show the Nati, who shares similar values, that she would be the best in these areas. The battle led to a rather open match, where both teams were able to create goal chances. The Scandinavians still created more danger, paying each time, in the first period, the lack of accuracy Berg (8th) or Ekdal, unable to adjust the test (9th, 41st). The selection of Vladimir Petkovic replied, once by Xhaka (33rd), sometimes by Dzemaili (38th), without really worrying Olsen

It was therefore necessary to decide between the two nations: a touch of inspiration, a bit of talent. And since Shaqiri or Dzemaili, who are overflowing, have never taken the initiative, Forsberg has benefited. Shy in the first period, the RB Leipzig player has grown in power over the minutes. He finally found the opening, after taking a relay on the left side, knocking at the entrance to the surface, full axis. His shot, if it had not been countered by Akanji, would probably never have finished at the bottom of Sommer's cage. But whatever. Success smiles more often for those who take risks

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