HALFTIME UPDATE: A goalless half, but not a bad one by any means.
Both teams had chances but lacked the ruthless goalscorer to convert their many opportunities.
For the Swiss, most eyes are on Xherdan Shaqiri – and perhaps Granit Xhaka’s long-range efforts – but the best of their attack has come through left-back Ricardo Rodriguez, who has found space down the left and put in more than a handful of enticing crosses.
Shaqiri, too, has been a threat but it has been Sweden who have had the clearest of chances.
Marcus Berg was through on goal just minutes in, only to slice his effort away.
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Referee Damir Skomina from Slovenia, second left, shows a yellow card to Sweden’s Mikael Lustig. Pic: APSource:AP
But he won’t be feeling as bad as Albin Ekdal, who has fired two excellent chances over the cross bar.
Having never scored in international football before, Ekdal was an odds-on chance of squashing that record when he latched onto a glorious cross from Mikael Lustig – only to sidefoot it over the bar from a handful of metres out.
Lustig picked up a yellow card, which will force him to miss the quarter-final – should Sweden qualify.
This game is begging for a goal, and both teams are providing ample opportunity.
In is 24 years since Sweden last reached the last eight, while Switzerland hasn’t done so since they hosted the tournament in 1954.
Both teams have suffered blows ahead of the clash, with Switzerland missing captain Stephan Lichtsteiner and fellow defender Fabian Schaer while Sweden will be without Sebastian Larsson through suspension.
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Originally published as Sweden, Switzerland locked in tense battle
