July 18, (THEWILL) – Sweden defeated Portugal 5-0 at the Leigh Sports Village to win Group C and secure a spot in the quarterfinals of the 2022 European Championship thanks in large part to the brilliant display of Kosovare Asllani.
Prior to kickoff, Sweden just needed a point to ensure their spot in the competition’s knockout rounds, but they also wanted to finish above the Netherlands, who were playing against Switzerland, to avoid playing France in the next round.
Filippa Angeldal scored twice and Carole Costa scored an own goal for Sweden, the highest-ranked team in the competition, to lead by three goals at the interval.
At the beginning of the second half, Asllani added a fourth goal from the penalty spot. Moments later, Stina Blackstenius believed she had made it five, but VAR disallowed it for offside. Nevertheless, Blackstenius was not to be denied. She manoeuvred onto her right foot in injury time and blasted from the edge of the box into the top corner.
Netherlands’ 4-1 victory over Switzerland means Peter Gerhardsson’s team tops Group C and advances to the quarterfinals of the European Championships for the eleventh consecutive year.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
