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Stine Blackstenius’s goal and Hedvig Lindahl’s penalty save earned Sweden victory over Canada and a quarter-final against Germany

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Mon 24 Jun 2019 17.11 EDTFirst published on Mon 24 Jun 2019 14.08 EDT
The Sweden players celebrate at the final whistle.
The Sweden players celebrate at the final whistle. Photograph: Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images
The Sweden players celebrate at the final whistle. Photograph: Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

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“The Guardian stats show Canada with no shots on target. The penalty doesn’t count for that?” wonders Mark Schmidt. Official statistics have both teams tied on two on-target shots apiece. Beckie had both of Canada’s, one of them the penalty.

So Sweden will play Germany in the quarter-finals, in Rennes on Saturday. And Hedvig Lindahl has been given the player of the match award, which seems a bit puzzling. Sure, she saved a penalty and is generally excellent, but the penalty aside she didn’t have much to do.

VAR checks that penalty shout, even after the final whistle. It did hit someone’s elbow, but it was hard against their body. There will be no more penalties.

Final score: Sweden 1-0 Canada

The corner is headed to the edge of the area. A shot comes in, and bounces off a Sweden defender. Canada have their arms up, hoping for another handball-based penalty. The referee blows for full time!

90+8 mins: In the final second of stoppage time, Glas fouls Lawrence just outside the penalty area, near the byline, on the left. Canada score from this free-kick, or they’re out. Leon will take it.

90+6 mins: Thirty seconds later, the ball is back with Labbé. She boots it forward, and it runs through to Lindahl.

90+5 mins: Sweden have brought Anvegard on for Blackstenius, their goalscorer. There are two minutes to play and the ball is with Labbé, Canada’s goalkeeper.

90+4 mins: Jakobsson streaks down the right and pulls the ball back, and it rolls towards Asllani. A chance, a shot and a goal looks inevitable, but Schmidt somehow gets back and spoils things. She has had a great game, though certainly having pink hair makes you likely to notice her.

90+1 mins: There’s another, brief, VAR handball penalty review, but this time Sweden get the benefit of the doubt (there wasn’t really much doubt; it wasn’t a handball).

89 mins: Riviere gets into another good position on the right, but mishits her cross straight out of play. Sweden take Rolfo off, and bring Hurtig on.

88 mins: Fine work from Riviere, who has just come on. The shot that follows her pull-back, though, is wild.

86 mins: What a clearance! The ball is curled into the area, Asllani volleys it past Labbé and towards the corner of the net, but Scott manages to get her leg in the way! If she had not reached it, Canada were done.

86 mins: Sweden win a free-kick on the right, and Buchanan is booked. She will thus miss the quarter-final, if Canada manage to reach it.

84 mins: A couple of further substitutions: Beckie, Canada’s penalty-fluffer, is off and Rebecca Quinn is on. Also, Chapman is off and Riviere is on.

OH NO THEY DON'T!

82 mins: There was a fractional offside in the build-up, and the penalty is disawarded.

SWEDEN HAVE A PENALTY!

A low cross from the right rolls to Rolfo, and Lawrence’s attempt to dispossess her from behind is ruled a foul!

Sweden’s Fridolina Rolfo is fouled by Ashley Lawrence. Photograph: Joosep Martinson/FIFA via Getty Images
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80 mins: Save! Asllani plays in a free-kick from the left, one of her team-mates flicks it goalwards and Labbé makes a point-blank save!

76 mins: Canada continue to find Sweden’s defence impossible to penetrate. They have had 57% of possession, much of it in Sweden’s half, but have looked less likely to actually score.

73 mins: Buchanan slides in at the near post to stop Blackstenius scoring a second. If ever a game needed a goal, it was this one. And it has been totally transformed.

It's brilliantly saved!

69 mins: Lindahl dives to her right, gets both hands to the ball and pushes it round the post! Replays show her left foot is absolutely on the line when the kick is taken, so there will be no second chance for Janine Beckie.

Hedvig Lindahl turns the ball round the post. Photograph: Catherine Ivill/FIFA via Getty Images
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Canada have a penalty!

68 mins: Asllani’s hand wasn’t just by her side. That, in this cruel, cruel, world that we find ourselves living in. Is a penalty.

The Swedish players await the VAR decision. Photograph: Lucy Nicholson/Reuters
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VAR check! Canada are going to get a penalty here!

67 mins: Scott’s shot hit Asllani’s left arm. i don’t think the arm was very far from her body, but the impact of the ball pushed it out and made that look worse than it was, I think.

66 mins: Canada try to score: Beckie cross from the right and Schmidt is at the near post and heads across goal and wide.

63 mins: “Is it just me,” wonders Hubert O’Hearn, as Sweden push forward again, “or does the Swedish manager look like the guy in a noir thriller who garottes three victims before being pushed down an elevator shaft?”

Sweden’s head coach, Peter Gerhardsson, during the Women’s World Cup 2019 round of 16 match between Sweden and Canada in Paris. Photograph: Ian Langsdon/EPA

60 mins: Sweden have another decent attack. This time Blackstenius tries to return the favour by teeing up Asllani, but the still ubiquitous Schmidt gets back and cleans up.

56 mins: An excellent final pass and a decent finish. Labbé onrushed really quite badly there, I think, which helped the scorer a bit.

Blackstenius celebrates. Photograph: Lucy Nicholson/Reuters
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GOAL! GOOOOAAAALLL! THERE HAS BEEN A GOAL!

55 mins: Canada threaten, and keep threatening, and threaten some more. Then a pass is intercepted, it’s moved on to Asllani, she curls a pass to Blackstenius, and she pokes past the onrushing Labbé! It’s Sweden 1-0 Canada!

Stina Blackstenius of Sweden pokes in the opening goal. Photograph: Joosep Martinson/FIFA via Getty Images
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53 mins: It is a shot! It’s wide, obviously, but still, just by being an attempt to put the ball in the net it is one of the top three moments of this match. Sinclair it is, who curls her effort a couple of yards wide of the post.

52 mins: Canada have a shot! And might have another shot! Beckie is the shooter, whose 23-yarder flies high and wide, but Asllani fouled her mid-shot so Canada can have another go.

50 mins: Nearly a thing! Sweden push and probe around the Canada penalty area; Beckie wins the ball but then gives it straight away again; Jakobsson gets into the box and prepares to pull the ball back. Then she’s tackled. Corner.

48 mins: I think I’d prefer the lake, all things considered. “Apropos that other fella’s Swedish idyll, I’m watching from my local Scottish pub in Stockholm,” writes Jon Collin. “There are a surprising number of Scottish pubs in Stockholm; this one smells like a stale water closet and is a fairly accurate facsimile of an estate pub in the UK, though I’m not sure that’s what it’s aiming for. The crowd is mainly fellas who’ve been here for several hours. Terrible game, Asllani is frustrating, and Swedish TV is already talking about penalties.”

I shouldn’t be too disparaging. There has been lots of decent football, it’s just that absolutely none of it has happened in either penalty area.

“The BBC bloke is doing the commentary on his own, poor devil,” notes Charles Antaki. “Either the corporation is saving money, or there actually was a co-commentator and she’s slumped under the table with ennui, or simply walked off in dismay.” He is, at least, getting half-time off.

Half time: Sweden 0-0 Canada

45+2 mins: It’s over, for now at least. Just another 75 minutes of that before they decide it on penalties.

45+1 mins: There will be about one minute’s stoppage time, though I don’t really know where they found it from. Absolutely nothing has happened. Three free kicks. Some throw-ins. The occasional corner.

45 mins: Another foul! And a booking! Rolfo is booked for landing her foot on Scott’s ankle, though there didn’t seem to be much intent.

44 mins: Another foul! Lawrence is judged to have fouled Asllani, though I thought it could easily have gone the other way.

42 mins: Asllani keeps the ball for an unforgivable amount of time in midfield and eventually loses it, gifting Prince the chance to release Sinclair. Which she doesn’t take.

40 mins: Another first: a foul. There has been only one. According to the official statistics, Canada have only made three tackles.

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