
Swedes take to the air to book Euro 2025 knockout spot
The mercurial 35-year-old sent an early looping header bouncing off the woodwork before teeing up Stina Blackstenius to open the scoring.
She then netted a header herself after the break, with Lina Hurtig adding a third from a corner as the Swedes guaranteed a top-two spot in Group C and a place in the next round. They will face Germany in their final group game on Saturday to decide who finishes top.
"The plan was to attack through the flanks and through the wings, because we knew we would have a lot of space there, so we tried to attack, and got a lot of crosses in," Asllani told Reuters.
"The first goal, I waited one second extra, waited for their defenders to move, for me to chip it in to Stina. So it's three headers, three beautiful goals, the three points."
The Swedes never relented, pushing down the wings throughout the game.
"We had seen clips where they are centred themselves a lot, so it felt natural for us to go wide and work from there. It worked for the whole game, so we just kept going at it," midfielder Filippa Angeldahl told Reuters.
"We'll go through Germany and we'll take a lot of things with us from today. Obviously we're strong in the box and we want to get in the box as much as possible."
With Poland and Denmark now eliminated, it remains to be seen whether the Swedes will adopt the same tactics against Germany when the two sides battle it out in Zurich, and Asllani had a steely look when asked what the plan would be.
"We want to win the group. That's clear," she said.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


CNA
32 minutes ago
- CNA
Marquez takes seventh pole of season in wet German GP qualifying session
Ducati's Marc Marquez clinched his seventh pole position of the season at the German Grand Prix in a wet qualifying session at the Sachsenring where several riders crashed in slippery conditions on Saturday. While most riders struggled for grip on the wet surface and in the spray, it was the two veterans Marquez and LCR Honda's Johann Zarco who mastered the conditions in a shootout for pole. Both Maverick Vinales and Jack Miller suffered highside crashes at turn four but Marquez seemed at ease in the conditions, though even the Spaniard had a heart-stopping scare when he briefly slid before regaining control. "I was getting warmer and warmer and then I already had a moment on turn 11 and then when I crossed the finish line on that (one minute and) 28.0 I said, 'Okay, now breathe, calm down, the target is done,' that was the front row," Marquez said. "I thought that was done but then I saw on the screen and on the pit wall that the lap time of the second (best rider) every time was closer and closer. Then I pushed a bit, but because I felt like I was able to do it." Zarco, who had to come through the first qualifying session, had not claimed pole since Silverstone in 2022 and he came close to denying Marquez the 101st pole of his career with a faster time early in his lap but lost time on the final sector. It made no difference, however, as Marquez put in one final lap at the end of the session to clock one minute and 27.811 seconds to go fastest. "Seeing the rain this morning I was thinking, 'Okay, it's a new game, I have my chance'," said Zarco, who claimed victory at a wet French Grand Prix earlier this season. "At the end I did an extra push and I get the second place. It's cool, I expected pole position but Marc also got another fast lap and it's pretty good because yesterday I was not in the top 10 (in practice)." Marco Bezzecchi was third fastest and will start on the front row for the first time with Aprilia. VR46 Racing's Franco Morbidelli was fourth fastest and is joined on the second row by KTM's Pedro Acosta and Gresini Racing's Alex Marquez, who is second in the championship. The younger Marquez sibling was medically cleared to race this weekend after a hand fracture at the Dutch Grand Prix two weeks ago which required surgery.


CNA
an hour ago
- CNA
Spanish strength in depth sends warning to Women's Euro rivals
BERN, Switzerland :Spain signed off their Women's Euro Group B campaign with a come-from-behind 3-1 win over Italy that made it clear to the other teams in the last eight - anyone wishing to beat them needs to address the depth of talent in their squad and their ability to continuously adapt to in-game situations. Montse Tome's side shared 13 goals between nine different goalscorers as they won all three of their games to top the group and set up a quarter-final meeting with hosts Switzerland, and their ability to adjust to situations has allowed them to overcome slow starts. "I hope we'll be able to continue doing what we are doing, because in the group space we won three matches out of three. It's the first time Spain that did, and we keep reaching goals," Tome told reporters. "We have to be humble, we have to be realistic, we have to adjust what we need to adjust, and I'm confident that we will." Tome made six changes to her starting line-up for the game against Italy and Athenea del Castillo repaid her coach for giving her a first start at the tournament with the equalising goal in the 14th minute, illustrating the array of attacking options available to them. "Athenea has been playing with the team, sometimes she starts, sometimes she comes on in the second half. She accepts the role, and we are very happy with the role she's doing right now," Tome said. A 5-0 thrashing of Portugal and a 6-2 win over Belgium before the Italy victory showcased a Spain side with a dizzying range of attacking options and unworried by their occasional defensive lapses, especially when dealing with counter-attacks. The return of Aitana Bonmati to the starting line-up following a health scared has helped Spain, especially when organising their defence quickly when they lose the ball. "At the beginning she trained very well, she was well-prepared but had that health issue. So the recovery was good and today she was good in the offensive and defensive part because she did a good job," Tome said. Next up is Pia Sundhage's Switzerland on Friday and Tome was tight-lipped about what her tactics would be against the hosts. "It will be an interesting and tough game. We know some of the players, they are high-level and very talented players and we'll see how we manage with that structure," she said.


CNA
an hour ago
- CNA
Sinner seeks redemption, Alcaraz a three-peat in Wimbledon final showdown
LONDON :For Jannik Sinner, Sunday's Wimbledon final offers a chance of redemption; for Carlos Alcaraz it is an opportunity to join an elite club of men who have won the title three years in succession. There are many other plot lines but above all the showdown will help to cement a rivalry that could dominate tennis for a decade. Fears of a void in the wake of the golden era of Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic were real - surely nothing would ever be the same again after an age in which they took the sport to unimaginable heights. From 2003 to 2023, the trio accumulated 66 Grand Slam titles between them and their rivalries were complex and compelling in equal measure. Djokovic is not done yet but a new era has begun and it promises to be just as spectacular as the previous one. Between them, Alcaraz and Sinner have shared the last six Grand Slam titles and their mesmeric clash last month in the longest-ever French Open final is being touted as one of the greatest of all time. The Spaniard came back from two sets down and saved three match points on his way to a fifth Grand Slam title, in the process taking his head-to-head record over Sinner to 8-4, including winning all of the last four. It was a painful defeat for world number one Sinner but he has not had to wait long to try to set the record straight. "He is the favourite. He won here two times in a row. He's again in the final. It's very tough to beat him on grass but I like these challenges," the 23-year-old Sinner said of Alcaraz after beating Djokovic to reach his first Wimbledon final. "This is the second consecutive Grand Slam that we are in the final and playing each other, which is great from my side. I believe it's good for the sport." Sinner's three Grand Slam titles have all come on hard courts, two in Melbourne and one in New York. Alcaraz's major titles have come on all the sport's surfaces, suggesting a more complete game, but Sinner's performance against Ben Shelton in the quarters and Djokovic in the semis, show just how suited his game is to grass. His laser-like ground strokes, powerful serve and his ability to turn defence into attack in the blink of an eye were all on show and Alcaraz knows he faces a challenge every bit as tough as Roland Garros on Centre Court on Sunday. The only other time they have met on grass was at Wimbledon in 2022 when Sinner won their last-16 clash in four sets. "I expect that on Sunday, just to be on the limit, to be on the line," the 22-year-old Alcaraz, who is on a 24-match winning streak, said. "I just hope not to be five hours and a half on court again. But if have to, I will." Should Alcaraz prevail he would join Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer and Djokovic as the only men to win the Wimbledon title three years in a row and he would also surpass Nadal's two Wimbledon crowns. Both players have shown vulnerability during the fortnight. Alcaraz flirted with a shock first-round defeat against Italian Fabio Fognini, needing five sets. Sinner trailed by two sets against Grigor Dimitrov in the fourth-round after hurting his elbow, but was reprieved when the Bulgarian retired hurt. Sinner, the third Italian to reach a Wimbledon singles final after Matteo Berrettini in 2021 and Jasmine Paolini last year, has looked unhindered by his elbow despite wearing a compression sleeve on his right arm in his last two matches. "I think we are handling this small problem at the moment very well," he said. So the stage is set for a fitting end to a sun-filled Wimbledon fortnight and if Sunday's duel is even remotely as compelling as the one in Paris, we are in for a treat.