Winger Emil Forsberg’s second-half strike helped Sweden beat Switzerland 1-0 to enter the quarter-finals of the FIFA World Cup after a gap of 24 years.

It was a brilliant neck-and-neck affair till the 66th minute when Forsberg scored the goal, after which Switzerland failed to display the same energy and thus lost the issue.

Forsberg broke the deadlock in the 66th minute through a low-ball shot which was deflected by Switzerland’s Manuel Akanji in the goalpost.

The match started with Switzerland taking the upper hand in the match. In the opening minute, Switzerland’s wide forward Xherdan Shaqiri slammed a ball from distance to the near post.

Shaqiri did not stop here and went on with the another chance few minutes later but the ball was deflected away from the danger zone by the defenders.

After putting up the early pressure, Sweden regrouped their strategy and it paid off to some extent as forward M. Berg beat the offside trap and charged in behind, but his shot was stopped by the goalkeeper Yann Sommer in one-on-one tackle.

Just after this attack, Switzerland found themselves under pressure as defender J. Djourou, who was in the starting XI in place of suspended Fabian Schar, made an head attempt unconvincingly in the box which landed in-front of Shaqiri and the latter got it clear to deny a brilliant effort.

In the 27th minute, Sweden got another chance to take the lead when striker O. Toivonen slammed the ball to the bottom-left corner but he failed to finish perfectly as goalkeeper Sommer dived to his right to deny the effort.

With both teams attacking fiercely, none of them found the back of the net in first 30 minutes of the match. Shaqiri, Toivonen, Berg tried hard to score for their respective teams but lacked proper finishing.

In the 38th minute, the best scoring chance of the game came when some brilliant one-touch passing pierced the Swedish defence down the left before Blerim Dzemaili blasted over from inside the box.

The next couple of minutes saw both teams creating chances in each other’s box but failed in converting those chances and as a result Sweden and Switzerland went to the tunnel goalless.

In the second half, Sweden continued where it left. In the 49th minute, Forsberg displayed brilliant skill to dodge two Swiss players before Toivonen snatched the ball and slammed over over the bar.

The series of attacks continued and the much awaited moment came in the 66th minute when Forsberg found the space on the edge of the box and fired low shot which was deflected by Akanji in the goalpost.

The goal forced Switzerland to play more attacking game as their forwards starting putting pressure on Sweden’s defence. But unperturbed by the pressure, Swedish players kept their calm.

Sweden soon, made series of substitutions to minimise the pressure and the move proved to be successful as they were close to earn a penalty in the dying minutes of the game. But a free-kick by Andreas Granqvist from just outside the box which was brilliantly saved by Sommer to wrap up the issue 1-0

Poland coach Adam Nawalka has become the second coach to lose his job after a disappointing World Cup, after the Polish FA confirmed he would be leaving his post at the end of the month.

Poland salvaged some pride from an otherwise sub-par tournament with a 1-0 win over Japan in Volgograd, but by the time they played that game they had already been eliminated after a 1-2 defeat to Senegal and a 0-3 loss against Colombia, reports Xinhua news agency.

Nawalka, who had been his country’s head coach since 2013, had originally sounded in positive mood following the Japan game, saying that the team would learn lessons from the 2018 World Cup, but though that may be the case, he will not remain in charge.

“We have decided that Adam Nawalka will remain Poland’s team coach until July 30 and after that day we will be looking for a new coach,” said Polish FA chief Zbigniew Boniek, in a news conference with Nawalka.

“We will try to build a national team in a new way,” he added.

Hector Cuper was the first coach to suffer the consequences of a poor World Cup when the Egyptian FA confirmed they would not be renewing his contract, after the Pharaohs suffered defeats against Uruguay, Russia and Saudi Arabia in their three Group A games.

The Indian Under-16 football team lost to China 0-1 in the Four-Nation International Tournament in China’s Wei Nan city on Tuesday.

Hosts China came out strong in the opening exchanges of the match. Goalkeeper Biaka made two crucial saves in the 16th and 17th minute to keep India in the match.

The colts in blue gradually found their footing and in the 30th minute almost took the lead when Ridge De’Mello’s rasping shot hit the woodwork.

In the 40th minute, Vikram’s shot from range missed the target as the colts pressed to secure advantage.

However, it were the hosts who took the lead in the 42nd minute and held onto it for the half as the half-time scoreline read 1-0 in China’s favour.

Playing against older opponents had little effect on the Indian colts and Bibiano Fernandes’s boys get back into attacking mode immediately.

Ridge De’Mello proved to be a constant threat for the Chinese defence line and his shot tested the opponent custodian early in the second half, often.

In the 63rd minute, Rohit Danu was provided with an opportunity to level proceedings but the forward failed to tap home.

Two minutes later, opponents China hit the woodwork from distance.

Givson in the 67th minute had his shot saved by the Chinese custodian as the Indian U-16s pressed for the equaliser.

The Indian U-16s will be facing Thailand and North Korea next on July 5 and July 7.

Fresh from a relatively easy 2-0 whitewash over minnows Ireland, India’s real test on the tour will start on Tuesday when the Virat Kohli-led brigade will be up against a formidable England side in the first of the three-match Twenty20 International series at the Old Trafford here.

While India has been a consistent limited overs side over the past 6-7 years, England has of late lifted their game in coloured clothes by miles, thanks to a group of fantastic limited overs players like Jos Buttler, Jason Roy and Ben Stokes.

Going by current form, both sides are at par on paper, with India having won 15 of their last 20 T20 Internationals, including the Nidahas Trophy in Sri Lanka and the bilateral away series against South Africa.

England, on the other hand, will head to the series on the back of a 6-0 drubbing of Australia with Buttler, Roy, Jonny Bairstow in good form.

Regrouping after almost a three-month long gap, India used the Ireland T20Is as a good warm-up, registering facile wins of 72 and 143 runs but more importantly giving the whole squad good game time before the challenging series against the Englishmen.

Going into Tuesday’s series opener, India is expected to play around with set combinations which means Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma teaming up at the top of the order.

With veteran Suresh Raina in great hitting form at No.3, and skipper Kohli at No.4, it will be interesting to see if the team management includes the in-form Lokesh Rahul in the middle order.

All eyes will also be on the former skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who was in great touch in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for eventual champions Chennai Super Kings.

On the bowling front, Jasprit Bumrah’s thumb injury will be a concern as he has played a big role with his death overs bowling.

It will be interesting to see whether his replacement, Deepak Chahar, gets his maiden cap even though senior pro Umesh Yadav looks a more likely replacement.

Wrist spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal have proven their worth in Ireland and look certain to play.

England, meanwhile, made a few strategic changes by putting assistant coach Paul Farbrace in charge of the T20 team for the Australia and India series, while head coach Trevor Bayliss simultaneously took to domestic cricket scouting.

England’s recent ploy to promote Jos Buttler as an opener worked in fine fashion as he struck the quickest T20I half-century by an English batsman, with a 22-ball 50, that included six fours and five sixes against the hapless Kangaroos.

Buttler continued from where he left in the IPL, where he struck five successive half-centuries for the Rajasthan Royals and finished the tournament with 548 runs from 13 matches at a strike-rate of 155.24.

Needless to say, he will be India’s greatest threat, albeit the likes of Roy and Alex Hales also add a lot of firepower to the English top-order.

Teams:

India: Virat Kohli (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Lokesh Rahul, Suresh Raina, Manish Pandey, MS Dhoni (WK), Dinesh Karthik, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Hardik Pandya, Siddarth Kaul, Umesh Yadav.

England: Eoin Morgan (Captain), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Jake Ball, Jos Buttler (WK), Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, David Willey, Dawid Malan.

Spain’s Rafael Nadal continued to lead the men’s Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) world singles ranking released on Monday, just 50 points ahead of Switzerland’s Roger Federer.

The ranking witnessed no change ahead of Wimbledon’s first round as Germany’s Alexander Zverev stayed world No. 3, followed by Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro, reports Efe.

Meanwhile, Bosnian Damir Dzumhur jumped seven places to be 23rd in the rankings after his victory at Antalya Open.

The current top-10 ATP rankings and point scores are as follows:

1. Rafael Nadal (Spain) 8,770 Points
2. Roger Federer (Switzerland) 8,720
3. Alexander Zverev (Germany) 5,755
4. Juan Martín del Potro (Argentina) 5,080
5. Marin Cilic (Croatia) 5,060
6. Grigor Dimitrov (Bulgaria) 4,780
7. Dominic Thiem (Austria) 3,835
8. Kevin Anderson (South Africa) 3,635
9. David Goffin (Belgium) 3,110
10. John Isner (US) 3,045.

India suffered a penalty shootout heartbreak in the Hockey Champions Trophy final for the second consecutive time as they lost 1-3 (1-1) to defending champions Australia here on Sunday.

Blake Govers put Australia ahead in the 24th minute. India equalised through Vivek Sagar Prasad’s strike in the 43rd minute to end 1-1 at the regulation 60 minutes of play.

In the penalty shootout, Australia prevailed thanks to the brilliance of goalkeeper Tyler Lovell, who blocked attempts from Harmanpreet Singh, Sardar Singh and Lalit Upadhyay.

Aran Zalewski, Daniel Beale and Jeremy Edwards scored for Australia, who got their record 15th title, while Manpreet Singh tucked one past Lovell for India, who had lost to Australia in the 2016 final via the penalty shootout in London.

During the 60 minutes of play, both Australia and India had plenty chances to score in a fast-paced match.

Although the defending Champions made a good start, India quickly took control with better ball possession (over 60 percent) coupled with eight circle entries, two shots on goal and two penalty corners in the first quarter.

While India could not capitalise on the penalty corner opportunities, they missed a golden chance to score a field goal towards the end of the first quarter when Surender Kumar made a beautiful pass to Dilpreet Singh who then crossed it over to S.V. Sunil. But the latter pulled the ball onto his own feet, thus could not score.

Australia, on the other hand, were extremely quick on their counters and waited for their chances.

An infringement in the circle saw India concede the first penalty corner of the match and the chance was brilliantly capitalised by Govers as he powered it through. Though Sreejesh got his left glove on the ball, it bounced off into the net giving Australia a critical 1-0 lead in the 24th minute.

Though India had dominated major part of the first and second quarters, they had nothing to show on the scoreboard.

Looking for the equaliser, in the 38th minute, India appealed for a dangerous ball inside the striking circle but their fifth penalty corner was not only denied, they also ended up losing the video referral at a very crucial juncture of the match.

But their moment of reckoning came in the 42nd minute, Vivek hammered a cross by Chinglensana Singh. The equaliser had finally come after 17 circle entries. This was India’s seventh attempt on the goal.

Soon after, Mandeep Singh had a fabulous shot on goal with seconds remaining for the third hooter, but Lovell was exceptional in his save to keep India from taking a lead.

With the scores reading 1-1, India pushed up front with forwards Lalit Upadhyay and Mandeep Singh, yet three more shots on goals went amiss.

While the team’s defence stood out, another great chance was missed with Sunil making a strong foray into the circle but Manpreet Singh on the far post could not make this one count.

Seconds ticking away, neither teams could manage a lead thus resulting in yet another shootout where Australia walked away winners.

Belgium, boasting one of the most talented squads in the FIFA World Cup, will be overwhelming favourites to go past Japan, the lone Asian side in the pre-quarterfinals, when the two sides clash here on Monday.

Belgium topped the Group D with a 100 percent winning record following wins over Panama (3-0), 5-2 victory over Tunisia (5-2) and England (1-0).

Belgium head coach Roberto Martinez left most of his first-choice footballers on the bench for the England match so they could rest and avoid suspensions for the Round-of-16 match.

Even with a weakened side, the Belgians still recorded a fine win that buoyed morale even further and has put some pressure on the squad’s habitual starters as they aim to reach their third World Cup quarter-final (after Mexico 1986 and Brazil 2014) and equal their World Cup record of four consecutive wins, set four years ago.

Their unbeaten 22-match run — the longest in Belgium’s history — reflects the quality of a hugely talented side.

The Belgians boast a number of stars in their line-up including the likes of Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku (four goals in two matches), Chelsea playmaker Eden Hazard and Manchester City attacking midfielder Kevin De Bruyne.

Other key players such as central defenders Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen are expected to return to the lineup after missing the England game.

In the midfield, Mousa Dembele, Yannick Carrasco, and Axel Witsel are expected to start.

On paper, the world No.3 should have way too much firepower for Japan, who are ranked 58 places below the European outfit.

Japan have impressed so far in Russia with a 2-1 win over Colombia and a 2-2 draw in an entertaining match against Senegal before a 0-1 defeat to Poland. They advanced from the group phase on fair play points and are intent on winning a last-16 tie for the first time ever.

They have the experience to do just that — Eiji Kawashima, Makoto Hasebe, Yuto Nagatomo and Shinji Okazaki are each set to play their 11th match in the World Cup, a national record.

Along with Keizuke Honda, they will be looking to make up for the defeat to Paraguay at South Africa 2010, the last time that the Japanese featured in the knockout rounds.

Japan used a 4-4-2 formation in their last group match against Poland and lost. Coach Akira Nishino is likely to revert to the 4-2-3-1 system he deployed in the win over Colombia and the draw with Senegal.

Attacking midfielders Genki Haraguchi, Shinji Kagawa and Takashi Inui will have important roles to play just behind striker Yuya Osako. The Japanese will look to attack down the flanks and their chances of success will hinge on how well they can supply midfielder Gaku Shibasaki.

World Cup favourites Brazil continue their campaign for the 2018 World Cup here on Monday against a Mexican side which stated their campaign brilliantly before coming dangerously close to elimination.

Brazil produced their best display of the tournament in beating Serbia 2-0 to secure their place in the last 16, finding more connection between midfield and attack than in previous games, reports Xinhua news agency.

Much of that was due to the contribution of Phillipe Coutinho, who has been Brazil’s standout player despite Neymar’s attempts to grab the headlines.

Although he has scored just one goal, Neymar has had 18 shots so far in the World Cup and suffered 17 fouls, but has also been criticized for selfishness on the ball and play-acting when he receives challenges from rival players.

Neymar and Coutinho are certain to start and will be accompanied by Gabriel Jesus and Willian, with the latter the subject of transfer speculation linking him with a move from Chelsea to either Manchester United or FC Barcelona.

Left back Marcelo is doubtful for the game after suffering an injury apparently caused by his hotel mattress. If he is unable to play, he would be replaced by Atletico Madrid’s Felipe Luis.

Brazil struggled for fluidity in their opening two matches in Russia and will look to the win over Serbia as a turning point to their campaign and a confidence boost.

However, they will have to be wary of their disciplinary record with key trio Neymar, Coutinho and Casemiro a booking away from suspension.

Mexico travel to Samara after excellent performances against Germany and South Korea and a disastrous 90 minutes against Sweden, which nearly cost them a place in the last 16.

It will be interesting to see how coach Juan Carlos Osorio reacts after the 3-0 defeat to the Swedes and if he believes tiredness as a factor we can expect to see changes in his starting 11, with perhaps Jonathan Dos Santos coming into midfield and Hugo Ayala, who played against Germany, coming in to shore up the defence.

Brazil and Mexico are two of the countries who have the biggest number of fans with them in Brazil, and the stands in the 44,900 Samara Arena should be packed with color in what promises to a true ‘football fiesta’.

Hosts Russia stunned pre-tournament favourites Spain 4-3 (1-1) via penalty shootouts here on Sunday to enter the quarter-finals of the FIFA World Cup 2018.

Russia’s Sergei Ignashevich’s own goal in the 12th minute opened Spain’s account before Artem Dzyuba struck in the 41st minute to equalise.

In the penalty shootout, Koke and Iago Aspas missed their attempts for Spain while the Russians converted their first four spot kicks.

This is the best performance by Russia since the breakup of the Soviet Union. The best performance by the Soviet Union was a fourth place finish in 1966 when they lost 1-2 to the then West Germany in the semi-finals.

Goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev emerged as the hero for Russia as he saved two penalties. His job was made easier by poor placement by Koke and Aspas.

Akinfeev become Russia’s second most capped player on Sunday, displacing former defender Viktor Onopko to third place. This is the 110th international game for Akinfeev, who made his debut in 2004. Onopko was capped 109 times for Russia from 1992 to 2004.

CSKA Moscow defender Sergei Ignashevich is Russia’s most capped player. The clash against Spain is the 38-year-old’s 126th game for his country since 2002, reported Sputnik news agency.

In Sunday’s match, Spain’s defender Sergio Ramos opened the scoring in the 11th minute. However, later it was announced that it was an own goal by Ignashevich, making the Russian defender the oldest player to score an own goal at the World Cup, FIFA said on their official website later.

The record had been held by Honduras goalkeeper Noel Valladares who scored into his own net in the 2014 World Cup match against France at the age of 37 years and 43 days.

Dzyuba scored in the 41st minute after Russia was awarded a penalty due to Spanish defender Pique’s handball.

Since the match ended 1-1 after 90 minutes of regulation time, the issue rolled into overtime.

However, even after overtime, neither team managed to take the lead and the game went to a penalty shoot-out.

Russia were perfect from the spot. Koke’s miss gave Russia the upper hand and Akinfeev sent the Luzhniki Stadium into bedlam as he saved Iago Aspas’ penalty with his feet.

Both Argentina and France will need to improve their respective forms when they meet in a Round-of-16 clash at the 2018 FIFA World Cup at the Kazan Arena here on Saturday.

Despite boasting a squad overflowing with attacking talent, Argentina have struggled in their group matches. After being held 1-1 by Iceland in their campaign opener, the two-time World Cup winners were thrashed 0-3 by Croatia.

Facing a must win contest against Nigeria in their last group match, Argentina were in real danger of being eliminated before Marcus Rojo scored a late winner to send them through.

Part of Argentina’s woes have been FC Barcelona megastar Lionel Messi’s inability to reproduce his club form for his country.

The dimunitive genius has struggled to carry the pressure and weight of expectations that comes along with the Argentine jersey. With coach Jorge Sampaoli seeming to build his strategies around him, Messi’s struggles have hurt the entire team.

Messi had however, delivered against Nigeria when he exploited some extra space allowed to him by the Africans’ defence to score a brilliant opening goal. Argentina fans will be hoping for more of the same on Saturday.

The Argentine defence have also let the team down and had committed several glaring errors, specially against Iceland and Croatia. The poor form of the veteran Javier Mascherano must be giving sleepless nights to Sampaoli.

As a team, Argentina will have to do much better against France, who have, on paper at least, one of the most talented squads at this World Cup.

France have not fared any better. Placed in a relatively easy group, they struggled to beat Australia and Peru by narrow margins before being held to a goalless stalemate by Denmark.

They will face their first big test against Argentina. Thanks to a profusion of African origin players in their squad, France have pace and power in attack.

If N’golo Kante, Blaise Matuidi and Paul Pogba manage to impose themselves in the midfield, then things will get extremely tough for Argentina.

France coach Didier Deschamps however, feels that Messi could prove to be the desicive factor.

“Messi is Messi. Just you have to look at his statistics: 65 goals in 127 appearances with his national team. The intention is to neutralize him,” the 1998 World Cup winning captain was quoted as saying by Efe on Friday.

“We do not have a specific plan for him. A ‘plan’ is a big word, the idea is to limit his influence,” the 49-year-old added.