World Cup 2018: 3 reasons why Switzerland lost to Sweden

Sweden's astonishing run in the FIFA World Cup continued as they sent La Nati packing to progress to the quarterfinals. A 67th-minute goal from Emil Forsberg combined with a clean sheet was enough to see them through to the next round.

Switzerland started off proceedings with the first effort on goal through Xherdan Shaqiri, who shot wide off the post. Both sides found it difficult to settle into the game and attacked in fits and starts. Although neither team was able to find comfort in the first-half, chances came in plenty.

Poor finishing along with mistimed passes and touches kept the score line to 0-0. Sommer's risky goal-kick fell straight to a yellow shirt, but the subsequent effort from Berg was blocked by Akanji. The same goalkeeper made the game's best save when he was at full stretch to deny Toivonen.

Both the back lines then opened up after the half an hour mark as four chances were not taken. The first one was by Xhaka, who wasted the opportunity by blazing a shot over the cross bar. What followed, was worse. In a span of six minutes, Dzemaili and Ekdal spurned a couple of sitters.

The same intensity followed in the next 45 minutes when Sweden's sharp man-marking approach was up against a passi-based system of Switzerland. While one phase of the game was slow and scrappy, the other was loaded with chances.

Forsberg's fortuitous shot from the edge of the box broke the deadlock, a lead which the Swedes held on to, courtesy of some quality defending and pressing.

Substitute Breel Embolo glanced a shot towards the bottom-left corner but his effort was cleared off the line by Granqvist. Switzerland's day was summed up when Michael Lang received a red card, as he denied Martin Olsson a clear goal-scoring opportunity in the final minute of stoppage time.

Here are three reasons why Switzerland ended up on the wrong side of the result:

#3 Poor finishing

Both sides had an array of chances on the offer, but Xherdan Shaqiri and co. failed to take any. While Forsberg capitalized on one out of the many clear-cut openings, there was no one from the other camp to get onto the score sheet.

Starting off with Steven Zuber - the left winger found space to shoot more than twice, but often saw his shot directed too straight. Another chance went begging when Shaqiri whipped an early cross toward him, only to see it headed over the bar.

Next up is another set of misses, owned by Granit Xhaka. Owing to his long-range striking capabilities, the Arsenal midfielder let them fly from distance. Sadly, none of those shots even tested the opposition goalkeeper.

However, the best chance of the game fell to Blerim Dzemaili, who skied one way over the bar. He exchanged a couple of passes with Zuber and received a return pass. Unfortunately for him, he blasted a volley above the frame of the goal.

#2 Midfielders misfired

Enter captio — Xhaka failed to rise to the occasion

Vladimir Petković's game plan to deploy Granit Xhaka and Valon Behrami in different positions arguably turned out to be the worst decision of the match.

The skipper played in a deep role, almost as another central defender. He collected the ball at the back and played it around safely. He defended well in the box, made vital challenges and blocks and marshalled a solid back line. Well, that is not the issue.

This created two major problems for the men in red and white in other aspects. Firstly, the entire midfield had to be covered by Xhaka, who isn't the most reliable. When the ball was played to Forsberg, Xhaka aimlessly took a step forward and then realized he wasn't getting there. Not many would have noticed, but that is what led to the goal. He picked up a silly yellow card too, for a needless challenge.

Secondly, the fact that they didn't work together meant that the goal-scoring chances were cut short. Neither did they combine to close down spaces, nor did they thread the best of passes around the park. This caused their front men to drop deeper and ask for the ball in order to carry the attack forward.

As a result, creativity was hard to come by for this bunch of players.

#1 Succumbing to Sweden's high-press system

Right from the outset, it looked like a battle between Sweden's high-press and Switzerland's approach of playing it out from the back.

Janne Andersson's side closed down their opponents to good effect. They had their task cut out, as far as defence was concerned. Whenever a Swiss player picked up the ball in midfield, two players would collectively rush out to close down options for him to pick a pass.

The main highlight was how they scanned and killed Xherdan Shaqiri's threat. They flooded Switzerland's right side with four men back, defending and marking the 26-year-old to near perfection. Almost every time he received a pass, he was surrounded by two-three yellow shirts.

Neither did he have a chance to drop his head and find room on his left, nor was he able to find an inch-perfect cross into the box.

Apart from Embolo's direct play and dribbling display that disturbed the opposition's back line in the final few minutes of the match, none of La Nati's players were dynamic and innovative enough to split the Swedish defence.

Sweden's vibrant and energetic viewpoint of not allowing space and sticking together while trying to win the ball back proved to be the deciding factor.

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