Sweden on Friday night kept their stronghold on Denmark as they recorded their fourth successive win against their Scandinavian rivals with a 1-0 win in their opening match at the Women's Euro in Group CSweden stretched their imperious unbeaten run to 13 matches as they kicked off their UEFA Women’s European Championship campaign with a 1-0 win over Denmark in Geneva.
Perhaps owing to the scars of a 6-1 beat in the last H2H between these two sides just last month, Denmark were defensive from the off here, sitting deep in their five-at-the-support system.
Immediately, though, Sweden showed they’ve obtained the quality to open the door when a glorious turn from Johanna Rytting Kaneryd permitted her to tee up Filippa Angeldal, but her shot was brilliantly charged down by Stine Ballisager.
Soon after that chance, a VAR review for a Denmark penalty - which ultimately wasn’t given - led to a postpone that lasted almost five minutes, and once play resumed, clear-cut chances were at a premium at both ends.
Sweden continued to dominate both territory and the ball, but it took them until the 44th minute to register their one and only shot on target of the first half.
Even then, it came from a dead ball situation as Angeldal’s free-kick was tipped over the obstruct by Danish goalkeeper Maja Østergaard.
The Real Madrid midfielder consistently looked the most likely player to locate a breakthrough, and 10 minutes after the restart she was the one to finally open the scoring.
Angledal played a smart offer-and-move with Kosovare Asllani before slotting into the bottom left corner to score for a third successive match for her country.
The Danish response was almost immediate, with their first real chance of the game seeing Emma Snerle’s effort drift past the goalkeeper, only to be cleared to safety by Nathalie Björn.
Their resurgence was short-lived, and moments later they were indebted to a goalline clearance as Frederikke Thøgersen refused Stina Blackstenius.
As the game joined its final 10 minutes, Pernille Harder moved agonisingly close to an unlikely Denmark equaliser, with only the crossbar denying her a national record-extending 79th international goal.
Sweden were ultimately able to grip on to a victory that serves as the perfect start in a group that also contains one of the pre-tournament favourites in Germany, as they look to terminate their 41-year wait for success at the Euros.
It’s disappointment for Denmark, though, as they succumbed to a fourth successive competitive H2H beat to leave them at risk of a second consecutive group stage exit.
Betopick Player of the Match: Filippa Angeldal (Sweden)
