Sweden 3–0 Poland – Sweden Advance but Game Falls Short of Their Best
Sweden secured a comfortable 3–0 victory over Poland in Group C of Women’s Euro 2025 in Lucerne, booking their spot in the quarter-finals. However, the clash was pedestrian—Sweden dominated possession and space, yet their crosses and attacks seldom scared a disjointed Polish defence into panic.
🇸🇪 A Headed Hat-Trick, but Hollow Edges
Sweden carved the lead through a classic formula—crosses and headers:
28′: Stina Blackstenius nodded home from a perfect right‑wing delivery, capitalising after multiple early attempts ([guardian match report] ).
52′: Kosovare Asllani doubled the lead, her header assisted once again from the right flank, reinforcing Swedish aerial dominance ([guardian] ).
77′: Substitute Lina Hurtig, returning after 18 months out, completed the hat‑trick by converting a corner delivery ([guardian] ).
🧭 Style vs Substance
Despite the scoreline, the game lacked flair:
Sweden’s phase play felt mechanical, reliant on repetition rather than creativity.
Cross after cross swarmed the Polish area, but most finished safe or speculative, rather than cutting or clever.
Poland defended poorly—isolated and slow, they invited pressure rather than resisted it.
As one observer noted: Sweden penetrated easily, but were mostly ineffective. A poor showing from Poland made Sweden look better than they were.
🧤 Tactical Summary
Team Performance
Sweden Dominated possession (54%) and territory, but lacked incisive finishing. Right-wing crosses were methodical yet frustratingly predictable.
Poland Defensively porous—no second thoughts. Their midfield could not disrupt builds, and attackers were starved of quality service.
🎤 Post-Match Voices
Coach Peter Gerhardsson praised his squad’s resilience and delivery but admitted, “We lacked even higher quality in the final third.”
Captain Kosovare Asllani, boasting 201 caps, said: “We’ve done our job. Top spot’s up next, but performance needs to sharpen.”
Polish captain Ewa Pajor admitted: “This wasn’t our level. We were overrun. Tough lessons ahead.”
🔜 What’s Next?
Sweden play Germany next to decide Group C top spot—the winner may avoid Spain’s half of the bracket.
Poland and Denmark are eliminated, but still have pride matches to play.
