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A profligate Sweden side managed to beat a stubborn Switzerland side 1-0 in their 2018 FIFA World Cup last-16 tie at the Saint Petersburg Stadium on Tuesday night thanks to Emil Forsberg’s defected strike in the 66th minute.
The Swedes, Group F toppers, started the tie strongly and had a flurry of chances in the first 15 minutes itself but failed to put them away.
Switzerland, traditionally slow starters at the World Cup, recovered and it turned into a battle of attrition, in stark contrast to previous knockout games we have witnessed in Russia so far.
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As match referee Damir Skomina sounded the half-time whistle, the Swedes were definitely on top but had little to show for it.
The second-half began on a similar note as the first ended and as the hour-mark crept by, there were fears that the first scoreless draw of the knockout stages would be at hand.
Forsberg, scoreless at the World Cup so far, would quell those fears as as a well-worked Swedish move ended with him firing a deflected effort past the stranded Yann Sommer in the 66th minute.
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Switzerland, with Xherdhan Shaqiri in their ranks, rallied to apply real pressure on the Swedes but it was not to the be and in the end the Swiss were lucky to not be 2-0 down.
For substitute Martin Olsson’s lung-busting run right at the death saw him get hauled down right at the edge of the box by Michael Lang.
Since it was a last-man tackle, the right-back got his marching orders but after consultation with VAR, referee Skomina changed his initial decision of a penalty to a free-kick.
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Sommer made a fine stop to deny Sweden a 2-0 scoreline, but in the end it was all academic as the full-time whistle sounded.
Colombia take on England in the final last-16 tie later on Tuesday and the winner of that fixture will take on the Swedes in the quarters.
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