SHARE
COPY LINK

EURO 2013

Swedish women cruise into Euro quarter-finals

A second-half goal explosion secured hosts Sweden a place in the quarter-finals as they beat Italy 3-1 on Tuesday to maintain their unbeaten record in the women's Euro 2013 tournament.

Swedish women cruise into Euro quarter-finals

Strikes from Lotta Schelin and Josefine Öqvist, and a Raffaella Manieri own goal, ensured Sweden finished top of group A with a tally of seven points after the match in Halmstad, western Sweden.

Over 7,000 spectators were in attendance to watch a lacklustre first-half.

Yet when the teams returned after the break, three goals were netted in quick succession before Italy’s Melania Gabbiadini scored a consolation in the 78th minute.

“It was so damn nice to get such a great start and after that we just kept on going,” goalscorer Schelin told TV4 after the game. “We didn’t have very many chances but we took the ones we got.”

Sweden coach Pia Sundhage was pleased with the win but quick to note her disappointment with the team’s first-half performance.

”The three points are welcome but the first 45 minutes were so-so and we became pretty stagnant,” she told TV4. ”The match as a whole was up and down and I think we can do better.”

Sweden’s quarter-final match will take place on Sunday as the team now prepares to face the third-place finishers in Group B or C.

The Local/cd

Follow The Local on Twitter

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

FOOTBALL

Women’s football match draws record crowd in Madrid

A record crowd of 60,739 watched a women's match between Barcelona and Atletico Madrid at the Wanda Metropolitano on Sunday, less than three months before the start of the World Cup.

Women's football match draws record crowd in Madrid
Atletico Madrid's midfielder Silvia Meseguer (L) vies with Barcelona FC's midfielder Vicky Losada during the match on Sunday. Photo: AFP

The attendance is the largest ever for a top-flight club match in European women's football while Atletico claimed the number also sets a new world record. 

“An historic record attendance for a club match! Today we have at the Wanda Metropolitano 60,739 spectators!”, read a post from the club's official Twitter account. 

“The crowd cheered up our girls and set a world record for an attendance at a women's club match,” Atletico added in a statement.    

Barça won 2-0 as goals from Asisat Oshoala and Toni Duggan mean the Catalans now sit just three points behind Atletico at the top of Liga Femenina. 

The bumper attendance exceeds the previous European record set, also in Spain, on January 30, when a crowd of 48,121 turned out to watch Athletic Bilbao play Atletico Madrid at San Mames stadium. 

The overall record for women's football remains the 90,185 spectators that attended the final of the 1999 World Cup at the Rose Bowl in California, when the United States beat China. 

This year's World Cup in France will begin on June 7th. Spain have qualified and will be in Group B, with Germany, China and South Africa.

READ ALSO: Barça under fire as men's team fly business class, women go economy

SHOW COMMENTS