Our 3️⃣ points as Sweden top Group C and Netherlands leave it late | OneFootball

Sweden brushed aside Portugal 5-0 to top Group C whilst the Netherlands needed three late goals to confirm their spot in the quarter-finals.

Here’s what we made of it.

Swedish set-pieces provide the spark

Sweden have qualified top of Group C and they did it in some fashion.

Portugal put up a good fight and although they moved the ball around well, struggled to create clear-cut opportunities.

Their opponents though were clinical when it mattered. A combination of stature, good fortune and clinical execution saw Sweden take a four-goal lead in the space of an hour – all coming from set-plays.

Filippa Angeldal occupied the penalty spot like it belonged to her, quickly reacting to a loose ball to score the opener, before rushing onto and sweeping home Kosovare Asllani’s corner to make it 2-0 in the 44th minute.

A Carole Costa own goal (a forced intervention in a desperate attempt to stop the towering Amanda Ilestedt) would make it three before the break with Asllani’s second-half penalty putting the game to bed.

Arsenal striker Stina Blackstenius thought she’d made it 5-0 with a looping header only to be denied by the offside flag – although 26-year-old would open her Euro 2022 tally later in the game.

As Sweden move into the knock-out round for the seventh consecutive time, their potential opponents (Iceland, Belgium and Italy) won’t be relishing the task should they meet them.

Determined Dutch dig deep and unearth new talent

The Netherlands have had quite the journey so far at Euro 2022.

They lost experienced goalkeeper Sari van Veenendaal and centre-back Aniek Nouwen (who returned against the Swiss) in their opening game with Sweden as well as star forward Vivienne Miedema (out with COVID-19).

Coming from behind against Sweden, followed by giving up the lead against both Portugal and Switzerland will raise many questions as to their defensive capabilities for manager Mark Parsons.

The positive, however, is that in the face of adversity – and without some of the key players – others have stepped up.

Goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar had only one cap to her name coming into this competition but is making a name for herself. The 22-year-old has been in scintillating form and has kept the Dutch from falling behind in key moments.

Against Switzerland, when it looked like they had given all they could up stepped Romée Leuchter. The Ajax forward entered the game in the 74th minute and provided that final touch the Oranjes were crying out for in Miedema’s absence.

A new star rising just in time to face France.

Favourites make it through but heads can be held high

Coming into Euro 2022, a betting individual would’ve happily put their money on Netherlands and Sweden topping the group.

That doesn’t mean that it was straight forward though. Having played out an enthralling draw in the first game, Switzerland and Portugal pushed their opponents all the way.

Despite falling at the stature of Sweden’s set-pieces, Portugal moved the ball around swiftly and lacked just the final ball to truly threaten their opponents.

In their game against the Dutch, Francisco Neto’s team clawed their way back from two goals down – only to be beaten by a stunning late Daniëlle van de Donk effort.

Switzerland went a step further, with the final 4-1 score line flattering the Netherlands as the Swiss spirits broke late in the game as they went behind.

Growing as the tournament went on, Nils Nielsen will surely be able to take away ample positive from the way his side played and hopefully build on a promising platform.