OdishaLIVE Bureau
- Sweden edged past Switzerland 1-0, to book their spots in the Round of 16.
- England won against Colombia on penalties in a thriller at the Spartak Stadium.
This World Cup has not been short of drama in any way but to witness such drama and excitement every single match is a dream come true for many football fans. After Belgium and Japan provided drama for day before yesterday, England and Colombia took charge and gave the fans a rollercoaster ride, yesterday.
Sweden played Switzerland in the first match of the day at the Saint-Petersburg stadium at 7:30 IST. The match started off in Switzerland’s favour when Sweden lost possession and the ball fell to Xherdan Shaquiri who’s shot just went wide off the post. Sweden played some quick attacking football and Marcus Berg had a hat trick of chances to score. His first chance was because of his movement that got him through the Swiss defence but his shot went way into the stands. The second chance was a half chance where his shot was blocked by the Swiss defence. The final chance for him was when he took a half volley on the bounce only to see Jan Sommer to make a brilliant save.
Switzerland’s only clear cut chance of the game came due to some great attacking play when Dzemaili played one-two with Zuber only to receive a grounded cross from Zuber and blast it over the bar, five minutes before the first half. Late into the half, Sweden were awarded a free kick and Emil Forsberg’s shot was deflected and went for a corner. From, the resulting corner came the best chance of the day. Albin Ekdal was free, unmarked in the penalty area and from a cross failed to capitalise as his shot went way over the bar.
Forsberg Scores
The second half begun and for the initial stages was uneventful. But, in the 66th minute Emil Forsberg had announced himself on the World’s biggest stage. His shot from just outside the box was deflected off Swiss defender Manuel Akanji and went into the goal. Sweden had taken the lead and on the balance of play and chances created they deserved it. After, they took the lead Sweden sat back for a while and looked to hit Switzerland on the counter. Switzerland on the other hand, failed to create any clear-cut opportunities despite having a lot of possession.
In the 73rd minute Breel Embolo and Seferovic was subbed on to inject some pace and freshness in the Swiss side by manager Vladamir Petkovic. Embolo looked a handful for the defenders with his pace and power creating problems for the Swedish fullbacks. He almost made it level for his country, when his header was just scrambled off the line by Emil Forsberg who was having his best game in a Sweden shirt.
In, the dying stages of the game Switzerland were hit on the break and Martin Olsson was through onto their goal. But, he was fouled by Micheal Lang who was shown a red card. The referee initially awarded a penalty but after consulting with VAR decided to award a free kick as the foul was committed just outside the box. Ola Toinoven’s free kick was saved but it did not matter as the referee blew his whistle and Sweden had qualified for the quarter finals.
Goalless first Half
England played Colombia in the final match of the day in the Spartak Stadium in Moscow at 11:30 IST. The first half was for the most parts was uneventful with both the sides not creating clear cut chances. England had more of the ball while Colombia looked to hit them on the counter. England had a number of corners but it did not give them the same kind of luck that they had against Tunisia as they failed to capitalise. A controversial moment aroused in the 38th minute when Wilmar Barrios appeared to have head butt Jordan Henderson and the Liverpool man went down. The referee, after some chaos and tension in the penalty area decided to give a yellow card to Barrios for his conduct. The first half ended and the score was 0-0.
Kane leads England
The second half resumed and England were on top. They looked sharper in their play and moved the ball faster. Eventually, they were awarded for their efforts when Carlos Sanchez brought down Harry Kane in the penalty area from a corner and the referee awarded a penalty to England. Skipper, Harry Kane stepped up and fired the ball into the net in the 57th minute to give his country the lead. England now sat back a little and looked composed when they had the ball. Dele Alli headed over the bar from the cross in the 63rd minute and could have doubled the lead. While they continued to soak in the Colombian attacks, Colombia had their best chance of the game scuffed.
Missed chances
In the 82nd minute due to a lapse of concentration by Kyle Walker, Colombia were through on England’s goal with 3 Colombian players running at 2 England defenders. Eventually, the ball came at Juan Cuadrado’s feet who blasted the ball over the bar. Mateus Uribe almost made it 1-1, when his spectacular shot was saved by Jordan Pickord late into the match. The drama continued as Yerri Mina headed into the goal from the resulting corner to make it level for Colombia in the last minute of injury time and the game went into extra time.
Tense shootout
For the majority of the extra time, Colombia looked more threatening with momentum now on their side. Falcao’s header just went wide and Colombians could feel that they were going to score but England remained in the game and saw Danny Rose’s shot just go wide of the goal. Jesse Lingard was also through on goal until he was tackled although he felt he was fouled. England defended well and took the game into penalties. England until now had played 3 penalty shootouts at World Cups and lost all of them. Let’s just say their fans were not that excited going into the shootout. Both of the teams scored their penalties until when Jordan Henderson’s shot was saved by David Ospina and English fans knew they were doomed and that football wasn’t coming home.
England overcome Fear
But, moments later Uribe saw his penalty hit the post and England were back in the game. The turning point came few minutes later when Jordan Pickord saved Carlos Bacca’s shot and England had the chance to win it in the next penalty. Eric Dier stepped up and the hopes of millions lied on him. Even with such pressure he looked calm and calmly slotted the ball into the net and England had qualified. They had overcome their biggest fear – penalties. They now face Sweden in the Quarter Finals and winner plays either Croatia or Russia in the Semi Finals.
(Story: Raunaq Dash, Edit: Sriram Singh Rattan)
