Sweden clearly hadn’t done their homework on Switzerland’s top qualification scorer Breel Embolo, who had seen all three of his goals in this cycle come on home soil before HT.
And after an assertive start, he took just 12 minutes to extend that streak here in Geneva, with Dan Ndoye doing the legwork by outwitting Daniel Svensson deep on the right flank before cutting a ball into the danger zone, where the Rennes poacher was waiting to sweep home at close range.
Given the teams’ respective records and the early flow of play, Sweden’s equaliser in the 33rd minute came as a huge surprise, especially as it marked Switzerland’s first conceded goal of the cycle.
It was a timely Glasgow kiss crafted in Newcastle, with Anthony Elanga bursting down the left and putting in a firm cross for Celtic’s Benjamin Nygren, who volleyed past Gregor Kobel to notch Sweden’s first goal under Potter in memorable fashion.
Consequently, the momentum was mostly with Sweden for the remaining first-half minutes, and after a brace of Nygren misses from Elanga deliveries, Mattias Svanberg drew a point-blank save from Kobel.
Although the Swiss didn’t noticeably shift up a gear after the restart, they benefitted from some Swedish sloppiness near the hour mark, when a poor backpass by fresh substitute Gabriel Gudmundsson put Embolo through, causing him to be brought down by the onrushing Viktor Johansson.
The penalty call had to survive a VAR review, and once it was cleared, Granit Xhaka stepped up to send Johansson the wrong way, blasting a fearless spot-kick into the bottom-left corner and restoring their three-point cushion at the summit.
Fortuitous though it was, the restoration of Switzerland’s lead seemed to give them a new lease of life, and Embolo came close to completing a brace when gifted the ball by Isak Hien, only for Johansson to block him despite slipping, keeping Sweden in the game.
However, it was but a fleeting reprieve for the Scandinavians, and Ndoye finished them off with 15 minutes remaining, when he latched on to an incisive pass into the area from Ruben Vargas and clinically fired into the far corner, despite Johansson getting a hand to his shot.
Although Switzerland fulfilled their end of the bargain – and added a fourth right at the death through Johan Manzambi’s low finish at the near post – they’ll have to wait until Tuesday to discover their fate due to Kosovo’s own victory tonight. A mere point against Kosovo in the Group B finale will be enough to seal the deal.
Meanwhile, Sweden’s dream isn’t over for certain, but they could still endure the ignominy of a first-ever winless WC qualification campaign – a stat which can only cast doubt on their ability to qualify for just a second finals in six attempts.
