BERLIN June 23 (Xinhua) – Undefeated Sweden’s top group E after beating Poland on a stay from Emil Forsberg and a goal from Victor Claesson at St. Petersburg’s stadium on Wednesday.
Poland needed a victory to qualify, but the Poles got the worst possible start to the match, as Forsberg’s left-handed attempt into the far post corner made it 1-0 with 83 seconds played.
Paulo Manuel Carvalho Sousa’s side responded well and came to two promising chances, but for all this, Robert Lewandowski only shook the woodwork in quick succession in the 17th minute.
When the match went on, Poland gained the upper hand, but still they did not manage to work out many clear opportunities due to Sweden’s rock-hard defense.
The Poles reaped their best chance at the end of the first half after goalkeeper Robin Olsen had to stretch to tip Piotr Zielinski’s effort on goal around the post.
After the restart, Poland dominated the possession and kept Sweden’s defense busy, but still neither Zielinski nor Grzegorz Krychowiak could beat Olsen in the early stages.
Poland’s waste was punished by icy Swedes, who doubled the advantage in the 59th minute when Forsberg collected Dejan Kulusevski’s construction work before drilling the ball from 15 meters in the upper right corner.
However, Poland responded this time and halved the deficit through the productive striker Robert Lewandowski, who curled the ball past two defenders in the right right two minutes later.
Poland pressed their opponents, causing the game to be a bit of a stalemate at times. However, Jakub Swierczok made a spectacular save.
The Poles continued on the front foot and were rewarded for their dominance in the 84th minute when Lewandowski had all the time and space to process the Przemyslaw Frankowski assist before placing the ball past Olsen from close range.
Just when Poland gained momentum, Sweden killed the match in the injuries after Victor Claesson ended a counterattack to knock Poland out of the tournament.
“It was a crazy start. It meant they were a little more desperate than us. They created chances, could have scored, and we were a little lucky. At 2-0, the match should be over, but they equalized, and their goal came But then we got the third, and now it’s just pure luck, says Sweden’s striker Forsberg.
With the result, Sweden reached the top position with 7 points in group E followed by Spain (5 points), Slovakia (3 points) and Poland (1 point).
Source: sn.dk