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25 mins: Frustration rears its head for Portugal, who certainly don’t deserve to be behind, as Borges takes out Rytting Kaneryd with a cynical slide tackle.
Goal! Sweden 1-0 Portugal (Angeldal 21)21 mins: Sweden win a corner when Asllani wriggles to the byline and picks out Bjorn, whose sliced shot hits a defender and goes behind. Andersson’s inswinging cross draws Morais, but the keeper doesn’t get anywhere near enough distance on her punch, and the drops at the feet of Angeldal, who taps home from eight yards.
Filippa Angeldal puts Sweden ahead. Photograph: Robbie Jay Barratt/AMA/Getty Images18 mins: Norton spreads play to Borges, whose smart early ball finds Diana Silva peeling out to the left of the penalty area. She looks for Nazareth in the box but Eriksson gets across to put the ball behind. Lindahl flaps at the resulting corner and the ball lands at the feet of Costa, whose smashes the ball back across the face of goal – and out for a goal kick.
16 mins: Andersson ventures forward from left-back and plays a smart one-two with Blackstenius. She drills in a cross but Morais gets down quickly to smother.
13 mins: Portugal are doing well to stay on the front foot, Jessica Silva doing well to offer her side an outlet and lead the press out of possession. Sweden look to break through Blackstenius but Pinto is on the spot to mop up.
10 mins: Jessica Silva, lightning quick, picks up the ball on the right and tests Andersson for pace. The left-back is up to the task but takes a knock while making the challenge and stays down, although it looks lie she’ll be alright.
7 mins: Morais, the newcomer in goal for Portugal, is intent on playing it out from the back but not especially convincing at it so far. Here she gives it short to Costa who, being closed down, plays it back to her keeper, who hoofs clear in a panic. Watch this space.
4 mins: Asllani vs Borges – both wearing No9 – is already shaping up to be a nice battle. This time the midfielder picks up the ball only to be floored by a fierce early challenge from the full-back.
1 min: And we’re off. An early misunderstanding between Costa and Morais gifts the ball to Asllani, who ends up in the box, ready to pull the trigger, when Borges arrives out of nowhere to save the day. Borges wants a penalty but it was a great tackles. Portugal zip up the other end and Pinto has a go from range but it’s catching practice for Lindahl.
The teams are out, the anthems are endured, and kickoff awaits. Sweden’s captain Caroline Seger, by the way, is injured today, Kosovare Asllani taking the armband.
Not only could all four teams in this group still go through, they could plausibly end up with the same number of points, should Portugal and Switzerland triumph this evening. In that instance, teams could be separated by goal difference, goals scored and maybe even their disciplinary records.
Portugal, who need nothing less than a win, have rolled the dice with an ultra-attacking lineup. Ana Borges, Andreia Norton, Jessica Silva, Francisca Nazareth and Diana Silva are all forwards of some description or other. It’s a hell of a gamble, especially since their chief strength of late has been their water-tight defence. Sweden have scored 33 goals in their last 10 games, so we could be in for some fun here.
Sweden, meanwhile, bring in experienced defender Jonna Andersson for veteran skipper Caroline Seger, and Johanna Kaneryd replaces Juventus forward Lina Hurtig, as she did from the bench against Switzerland. Barcelona’s Fridolina Rolfo and Arsenal’s Freya Blackstenius keep their places up front.
Photograph: Jan Kruger/UEFA/Getty ImagesPortugal have drafted in their second-choice keeper, Patricia Morais, and made a signiciant outfield change, too: left-back Joana Marchão makes way for Francisca Nazareth, the 19-year-old Benfica forward.
Team news!Sweden: Lindahl; Glas, Ilestedt, Eriksson, Andersson; Angeldahl, Asllani, Björn; Kaneryd, Blackstenius, Fridolina Rolfö.
Portugal: Morais; Amado, Gomes, Costa; Borges, Pinto, Dolores Silva, Norton; Jessica Silva, Nazareth, Diana Silva
PreambleThe group of death? Certainly everyone involved is still fighting for their life. With four supremely high-quality matches and every team in the group eyeing a quarter-final place going into the final group game, it’s probably fair to say that Group C has delivered the best of Euro 2022 so far.
After a pair of knife-edge draws in the opening games, Sweden gave themselves the upper hand over this evening’s opponents with a hard-fought win over Switzerland – sealed by a wondergoal from teenage substitute Hanna Bennison – while Portugal found themselves on the wrong end of a five-goal thriller against the Netherlands.
What does it all mean? Essentially, that Sweden just need a draw to book themselves a place in the quarter-finals; Portugal need to win and hope Netherlands – who sit at the top of Group C – avoid defeat against Switzerland. And whoever finishes atop the group once the dust has settled will have lined up a potential semi-final with either England or Spain.
Peter Gerhardsson’s Sweden side are ranked second in the world and are tournament favourites for good reason: they are undefeated since March 2020 – a frankly ludicrous run of 32 games – and the last time these two sides met, back in February, the Swedes ran out 4-0 winners.
Portugal are only at this tournament because of Russia’s late ban, but they would argue they near enough earned their place over the course of a qualifying campaign during which they conceded just two goals. Certainly they are not about to surrender the chance for a place in the last eight. As livewire striker Diana Silva said on Wednesday, after scoring one of her side’s goals and setting up the other: “Playing like we are, qualifying is still possible.”
Kick-off 5pm BST.