Manchester City’s Filippa Angeldal scored twice, while Arsenal’s Stina Blackstenius also scored when Sweden beat Portugal 5-0 at Leigh this evening to host a UEFA Women’s EURO quarter-final 2022 against Iceland, Italy or Belgium.
Everything was left to play the last day of Group C without the fate of any team having been decided before the game of the day. Portugal entered their match at Leigh Sports Village knowing that if they won and Switzerland did not win the Netherlands, they could make an unexpected appearance in the quarter-finals. The only thing that stopped them were the second best team in the world and the Olympic silver medalists from Sweden.
The Scandinavian set had the first course of things and this was soon shown on the scoreboard. First, a corner was cleared just halfway through a punch by Patrícia Morais and the ball went straight to Angeldal on the edge of the area. The Manchester City midfielder fired for the first time and found the back of the net.
Angeldal was back there on the edge of the 18-yard area when he had not been picked up from a side free kick that was thrown to him on the ground in acres of space. He quietly picked up the bottom corner and threaded his shot through a sea of bodies to double the advantage on his side.
Portugal had come up 2-0 in the last two games of the group, but repeating the same feat once again would be very difficult. And so it turned out that shortly before the break, a Swedish corner from the right was attacked by a group of players, but it was the previously reliable Carole Costa who turned the ball into his own net.
Sweden started the second half again with the forward foot and three quickly became four. A cross from the right struck Diana Silva’s outstretched arm and after a brief moment of reflection, referee Stéphanie Frappart signaled the point. Kosovare Asllani stepped forward and his perfectly placed shot was sent out of Morais’ reach.
The marker was not made there. With the end of the match, Arsenal striker Blackstenius, who had been denied twice by the offside flag prior to the match, created a space for himself and hit the ball with his right foot on the ceiling. of the network.
The 5-0 victory secured Sweden’s place at the top of the table, while ending the Portuguese tournament. To date, Sweden had been quite slow in the competition, but have easily rejected Francisco Neto’s team. Portugal had shown themselves as a team that never knew when they were defeated, but today has not really started. That said, they have been worth their money with some electric performances and exciting football against much more established teams in the women’s game.
The next for Sweden will return to Leigh on Friday, where they will face Group D runners-up and hope to be able to start their tournament after a compelling display today.
Ryan Lee Gregory
I’m Ryan Lee Gregory, a full-time FA Women’s Super League writer and journalist. I am also a documentary filmmaker.