At Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand, yesterday, Sweden defeated Japan by a score of 2-1 to go to the semifinals of the FIFA Women’s World Cup. Sweden’s defender Magdalena Eriksson celebrated the victory by jumping for delight while Japan’s players slumped to the ground in defeat.
As a result of Japan’s loss, the competition is now devoid of any previous champions, and Sweden will face Spain in the semifinals. Spain advanced to this round by defeating the Netherlands in their Last 8 match after extra time by the same margin.
On Friday, Sweden’s spectacular run of goals from set pieces helped them squeak out a 2-1 victory over Japan. This result put them in a position to face Spain in the semi-finals as they continue their pursuit of a long-awaited first World Cup victory.
In order to prevail against one of the most powerful teams still competing in the competition, Sweden dived deep into their arsenal of dead-ball strategies. Despite the fact that they did not execute these strategies as flawlessly as they had in previous matches, it was still sufficient to propel them to victory.
Amanda Ilestedt scored her fourth goal of the tournament, all of which came from set pieces, during a scramble following a free kick, and Jonna Andersson’s corner was touched within the box, which allowed Filippa Angeldahl to fire home the resulting penalty. Amanda Ilestedt’s goals were from set pieces.
“What the heck is going on? Ilestedt responded to a question from Swedish radio about her red-hot scoring streak by saying that it “is completely crazy, completely crazy.” “As long as we continue to win, I’ll be content, but it’s exciting to see the ball find the back of the net.”
Magnus Wikman, an assistant coach for Sweden, spends hours studying over ideas and then meticulously rehearsing them with his players. As a result, Sweden’s dead-ball set-ups are frequently selected by Magnus Wikman.
Their main source of success at the tournament has been the collaborative effort that they have put forth. Eight of their eleven goals have come from set pieces, either directly or after their opponents failed to clear the ball.
The Swedish midfielders were successful in stifling the quick-passing game that Japan was playing. The best opportunities for the Japanese team also came from set pieces, but they were unable to convert a penalty and watched as a free kick hit the bar, bounced once on the line, and then went out of play.
It was too little, too late for Japan as Peter Gerhardsson’s Sweden side played the percentages exactly once again to set up a semi-final match against Spain on the following Tuesday. Japan scored a goal in the 87th minute to bring the score back within one, but it was too little, too late.
Because of this, the Swedes were able to eliminate the team that had won the World Cup in 2011, and given that the United States, Germany, and Norway had already been eliminated, they insured that whoever wins this next World Cup will be the first team in their nation’s history to do so.
In 2003, Sweden achieved their best result at the finals, although they were defeated in the final by Germany. Sweden’s goal for this competition is to achieve an even better result than in 2003.
According to Kosovare Asllani, the captain of the squad, “It goes without saying that we are not satisfied with a semi-final; we want to go all the way.” “I have a lot of faith in my squad, and I know that we will be more than prepared for Tuesday.”