Sweden vs Czech Republic – Football Match Report – March 25, 2022
Swedish substitute Robin Quaison struck during the second half of extra time to secure a 1-0 victory over the Czech Republic and set up a match away against Poland next Tuesday with a place in the World Cup finals in Qatar.
The Czechs got an early goal ruled out for a foul and the Swedes had the lion’s share of ball possession during most of the playoff semifinals, but the two teams struggled to break each other down in a match full of tough tackles and headstrong passes.
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Alexander Isak almost opened the scoring early with a skilled volley from a corner that flew just outside, and winger Emil Forsberg got a shot past the post just before half time when Sweden tried to take the match to the Czechs.
The attacking trio Forsberg, Isak and Dejan Kulusevski caused the injured Czechs all sorts of problems, but since the Swedes both lacked their first-backs, they often struggled to get the ball to their forwards outside.
The visitors had some dangerous moments, where Tomas Soucek nodded just outside the hour and Jan Kuchta wasted a decent chance by screwing a shot past the left post when he should at least have forced a save by Robin Olsen.
The Swedish substitute Mattias Svanberg went closest to the Swedes during normal time, but his nod from Forsberg’s corner was directed straight at visiting goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik.
The match ended goalless after 90 minutes and looked to go towards penalties as Quaison danced through the defense before exchanging passes with Isak and drawing the ball into the net to send the home fans into the crowd at 48,628 in ecstasy.