FIFA World Cup 2018: Sweden vs Switzerland

Swedens emergence as a force in the 2018 FIFA World Cup group stage was not foreseen by most football journalists or fans. Their story was made even more tantalizing when they defeated Switzerland — a trendy pre-tournament pick to get far in the competition — with a complete performance. One goal by attacking fulcrum Emil Forsberg was enough to see off the Swiss, who werent able to create much substance despite lengthy spells of possession.

Lineups

Janne Andersson set up his Sweden side as always: a rigid 4-4-2 when defending. There were no personnel changes except for Gustav Svensson filling in for the injured Sebastian Larsson in a defensive midfield role. Emil Forsberg operated as a mobile left midfielder, tucking inside to aid link-up play. Left-back Ludwig Augustinsson took advantage of this extra space by overlapping consistently, something hes done throughout the tournament.

Switzerlands Vladimir Petkovic was forced to make two changes in defense after Stephan Lichtsteiner and Fabian Schär accumulated two yellow cards. Breel Embolo made way for Steven Zuber on the left, while Josip Drmic became Switzerlands third starting striker this summer. Nevertheless, Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaquiri remained to lead the team going forward.