Amanda Ilestedt scored twice as Sweden cruised into the knockout stage with a 5-0 win over Italy.
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Amanda Ilestedt became joint-top scorer with a headed brace
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Sweden advance to the last 16 with a game to spare
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Corners a vital weapon for the Olympic silver medalists
Sweden 5-0 Italy | Group G
Goalscorers: Ilestedt (39′, 50′), Rolfo (44′), Blackstenius (45+1′), Blomqvist (90+6′)
Set pieces again proved crucial as Sweden swept aside Italy to qualify for the last 16. Just as in their opening match against South Africa, Amanda Ilestedt emerged as the team’s unlikely goal hero, undoing Le Azzurre with two towering headers.
Jonna Andersson corners laid on each of those goals and another from Fridolina Rolfo, with open-play efforts from Stina Blackstenius and Rebecka Blomqvist offering eye-catching exceptions to the rule.
Yet although the scoreline might suggest that Peter Gerhardsson’s side were rampant throughout, they struggled during the early stages, only hitting their stride as half-time approached.
Nerves seemed to be settled when that Andersson-Ilestedt double act combined for the first time, with the latter providing a deadly glancing touch to direct home the former’s perfectly weighted inswinging corner.
So, too, will Blomqvist, the speedy substitute who added salt to Italian wounds with an excellent fifth deep into injury time, racing from halfway to slide the ball home.
Key stat
With his seventh Women’s World Cup win as coach, Gerhardsson set a new Swedish benchmark. He had previously shared the national record with Thomas Dennerby and Marika Domanski-Lyfors, both of whom oversaw six victories at the global finals.
VISA Player of the Match
Amanda Ilestedt (Sweden)
fifa.com
