Sweden 1: 0 Slovakia: Sealed Emil Forsberg won

Emil Forsberg’s second-half penalty secured Sweden a huge step towards qualifying for the 16th final of Euro 2020 with a win against Slovakia in St. Petersburg.

The spot-kick ended a 365-minute goalless streak for Sweden at the European Championships, since the group’s opening match at Euro 2016.

Although Slovakia was able to secure its progress in the knockout phase with a victory, Sweden now leads Group E with four points – one more than Slovakia, which faces Spain in the final match.

In the first meeting of the parties in the big tournament, in the uninspiring first half, there were five attempts to score, and the repulsed effort of the Swedish captain Sebastian Larsson outside the penalty area was the only one to score.

However, Janne Andersson came to the rescue after a long pass, when Dubravka defended the ball perfectly so as not to score with Ludwig Augustinsson’s header before Marcus Danielson sent a shot from the resulting corner.

It took Sweden just 25 minutes to record more passes than their full-back opener against Spain, where they endured a point, despite having only 15% possession and one shot on goal.

Impressive in that match, 21-year-old Alexander Isak – the young La Liga player of the year after scoring 17 goals in 34 games last season – was initially a hungry opportunity.

But he acted while Sweden confirmed itself in the second half, when Inter Milan defender Milan Skriniar performed an excellent sliding shot to block Isaac’s shot soon after the restart.

Real Sociedad striker Isak, who at the age of 17 became the youngest scorer of his nation with a goal against Slovakia in a friendly match in 2017, forced Dubravka into action after a wonderful ride.

It was one of six dribbles he completed in the game – the most of the players at Euro 2020 so far – and suitably Isak was the one to throw the ball into Quaison as he won the decisive spot-kick.

The defeat ended a series of six victories for Slovakia, which will be vigilantly watching, while Spain play against Poland in the second Group E match on Saturday (20:00 BST).

What’s next?

The last round of Group E matches will take place on Wednesday at 17:00, when Slovakia will face Spain and Sweden against Poland.

Match player

IsaacAlexander Isaac