Sweden edged Switzerland 1-0 in a 2018 World Cup last 16 clash at the Krestovsky Stadium in Saint Petersburg on Tuesday afternoon.

The ‘Blue-Yellow’ clinched a place in the last eight against either England or Colombia thanks to Emil Forsberg’s deflected goal 21 minutes into the second stanza.

The first half saw the teams trade chance after chance, though the poor level of finishing meant goalkeepers Robin Olsen and Yann Sommer were rarely called upon to make any notable interventions.

The only good save through all of the first half came from Switzerland’s Sommer, who dived full length to his right to keep out a left-footed effort from Swedish striker Marcus Berg in the 28th minute.

Switzerland wasted fine chances through Steven Zuber and Blerim Dzemaili, who missed with a header and right-footed shot in the 24th and 38th minutes respectively, while another good chance for Sweden saw Albin Ekdal volley high and wide from Mikael Lustig’s cross a few minutes before the break.

The ‘Blue-Yellow’ claimed the lead in the 66th minute, with winger Emil Forsberg coming inside off the left flank and shooting on goal from the ‘D’ of the penalty area. His effort was headed straight for the ‘keeper, but took a wicked deflection off defender Manuel Akanji to find its way into the back of the net.

Forsberg made another important play in the 80th minute, as he helped defend a goal-bound effort from a Switzerland corner kick, before skipper Andreas Granqvist hacked the ball clear from the danger zone.

Switzerland’s final chance arrived in the first minute of injury time as Haris Seferovic got on the end of a cross from Ricardo Rodriguez, but Olsen made a relatively comfortable low save to confirm his side’s victory.

Things went from bad to worse for the team in red when Michael Lang brought down Martin Olsson on a counter attack and was shown a red card. A penalty was initially awarded for the incident, but then rescinded by VAR.

Sweden (0) 1 (Forsberg 66’)
Switzerland 0

Sweden: Olsen, Lustig (Krafth 82’), Lindelof, Granqvist, Augustinsson, Claesson, Svensson, Ekdal, Forsberg (Olsson 82’), Berg (Thelin 90’), Toivonen

Switzerland: Sommer, Lang, Djourou, Akanji, Rodriguez, Behrami, Xhaka, Shaqiri, Dzemaili (Seferovic 73’), Zuber (Embolo 73’), Drmic

Sweden will look to claim the scalp of Switzerland when the teams meet in a 2018 World Cup last 16 clash at the Krestovsky Stadium in Saint Petersburg on Tuesday, July 3, kick-off at 16h00 CAT.

Sweden have emerged as one of the surprise packages of the first round, topping Group F ahead of Mexico, South Korea and Germany. The ‘Blue-Yellow’ edged Korea 1-0, were unlucky to lose to Germany and then produced a stunning performance to crush Mexico 3-0 and claim first place on the standings.

Coach Janne Andersson’s side are not the most gifted at Russia 2018, but they are well organised, resourceful and disciplined – and they now have a shot at getting into the final eight of a World Cup for the first time since 1994.

Switzerland have also raised eyebrows with their performances in the group stage. The ‘Rossocrociati’ first held Brazil to a 1-1 draw, before showing real class and character to pick up a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Serbia. They closed out the first round with a 2-2 draw against Costa Rica.

Vladimir Petkovic’s side have a fine blend of technical excellence, physical power and impressive determination. It is only their discipline which has let them down thus far: several of their players were fined for politically-charged gestures in the win over Serbia, while they will be missing experienced defenders Stephan Lichsteiner and Fabian Schar due to suspensions.

The key players for Sweden are veteran defender and captain Andreas Granqvist, who has scored two goals from the penalty spot and symbolises their disciplined organisation, as well as attacking midfielder Emil Forsberg, who has struggled to produce his best form but will back himself to perform on the big stage.

For the Swiss, defender Ricardo Rodriguez’s experience will be key in the absence of their suspended players, Granit Xhaka’s power in midfield should lay the platform for them to boss the engine room, and Xherdan Shaqiri’s unpredictability will be the ‘ace up their sleeve’ as far as breaking down Sweden’s defence is concerned.

In head-to-head terms, Sweden and Switzerland have met in 40 matches, according to FIFA’s statistics database. The ‘Rossocrociati’ have claimed 11 wins compared to 10 for the ‘Blue-Yellow’, while seven games have been drawn.

This will be the teams’ first meeting at the World Cup, while their last game overall was a friendly in Malmo in March 2002 which ended in a 1-1 draw.

Sweden v Switzerland – head-to-head

Matches played 28

Sweden wins 10

Switzerland wins 11

Draws 7

Sweden goals 46

Switzerland goals 42