A sole goal was enough for the Swedes to get a much-needed win – one that sees them spring to the summit of Group E.
Sweden walked away from the Krestovsky Stadium will all three points in the bag following a narrow 1-0 victory over Slovakia.
Jan Olof Andersson’s men were poor before the half-time break but they upped a gear in the second half.
Both teams came close to breaking the deadlock in the first period, with Slovakia’s Marek Hamsik lifting a 20-yard effort over the bar and Sweden’s Sebastian Larsson directing a header too far up.
The breakthrough came at minute 77 after the Swedes were awarded a spot-kick when goalkeeper Martin Dubravka took Robin Quaison down inside the penalty area. Keeping his composure, Emile Forsberg slotted the ball into the corner of the net.
Sweden rise to the top of Group E, with odds for progressing to the knockout stages now looking in their favor. Slovakia, meanwhile, sit second but could drop one place down depending on the result of Spain vs Poland.
Player Ratings
Sweden: Olsen – 6, Lustig – 6, Lindelof – 7, Danielson – 6, Augustinsson – 6, Larsson – 6, Olsson – 6, Ekdal – 5, Forsberg – 7, Berg – 5, Isak – 8, Bengtsson – 5, Svensson – 5, Krafth – 6, Claesson – 5, Quaison – 6
Slovakia: Dubravka – 6, Hamsik – 5, Duda – 6, Kucka -6 , Koscelnik – 5, Mak – 5, Weiss – 5, Hubocan – 5, Haraslin – 5, Satka – 5, Hrosovsky – 5, Pekarik – 5, Benes – 5, Hancko – 5, Duris – 4
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