On Saturday evening, World Cup qualifying continued in the European zone. It was a crucial night for Sweden, who needed a win in Switzerland to avoid being officially eliminated from the World Cup race. And after an already difficult campaign for the Scandinavians, their last hopes were dashed in Switzerland. Dominated from the outset by a much more solid Breel Embolo side, the Swedes conceded the opening goal from the Rennes player (1-0, 12th minute).
Without Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyökeres, respectively on the bench and injured, Sweden responded shortly after the half-hour mark thanks to Nygren (1-1, 33rd minute). Close to taking the lead during the match, the visitors ultimately crumbled in the second half. Switzerland regained the advantage with a penalty converted by Granit Xhaka (2-1, 60th minute) before Dan Ndoye extinguished Sweden's last hopes late in the game (3-1, 75th minute). Johan Manzanbi added to the tally in stoppage time (4-1, 90+1st minute). With this latest defeat, Sweden officially bids farewell to the World Cup through the group stage and sits at the bottom of Group B in these qualifiers . They will now have to hope to qualify via the playoffs, having secured their place through the Nations League. Meanwhile, Switzerland has one foot and four toes firmly in contention for a spot in the Americas.
Kosovo secures the minimum playoff spot, Scotland collapses in Greece
Switzerland hasn't officially qualified for the competition yet, solely because Kosovo is still three points behind despite a goal difference that prevents them from avoiding the playoffs. Playing away in Slovenia, Kosovo secured a comfortable victory thanks to an early goal from Asllani and an own goal in the second half (2-0). The Kosovars are guaranteed at least a playoff spot. In Group C, Denmark had a scare. At home, the Danes were held to a draw by Belarus.
After Mikkel Damsgaard opened the scoring (1-0, 11th minute), Pierre-Emile Højbjerg's teammates were thrown into disarray. They ultimately managed to avoid defeat thanks to Gustav Isaksen's equalizer in the 79th minute (2-2). Denmark holds a one-point lead over Scotland, who lost in Greece (2-3) to a late goal from Tzolis (63rd minute). The highly anticipated final between the two nations will take place this Tuesday. Finally, Bosnia and Herzegovina secured their playoff spot with a home win against Romania. This victory delays Austria's qualification, as they lead Group H by two points over Edin Džeko's teammates.
The results at 8:45 PM:
Group B:
Switzerland
4-1 Sweden : Embolo ( 12th) ,
Group C:
Denmark 2-2 Belarus: Daamsgaard (11th) and Isaksen (79th) / Gromyko (62nd) and Demchenko (65th)
Greece 3-2 Scotland: Bakasetas (7th), Karetsas (57th), Tzolis (63rd) / Doak (65th), Christie (70th)
Group H:
Bosnia-Herzegovina 3-1 Romania: Dzeko (49th), Bajraktarevic (79th) and Tabakovic (90+3) / Birligea (17th)
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