Ta'qali, Malta:
Ian Azzopardi scored an own-goal in the 81st minute on Wednesday to give Sweden a surprisingly hard-fought 1-0 win over Malta in a World Cup qualifier that kept the Swedes in contention for a spot in next year's tournament.
Malta had frustrated a lackluster Sweden team with its tightly packed defense until substitute Marcus Berg's short cross from the right deflected off Azzopardi's knee into the net.
The goal saved Sweden from an embarrassing setback against a team made up mainly of amateur players that has yet to score a goal in the qualifying campaign.
"It was incredibly tough today," Berg said. "There were no open spaces to run in. ... It's tough to play matches like these, but it turned out OK in the end."
Sweden now has 15 points from eight games in the tight Group 7, where Denmark, Hungary and Portugal are still fighting for the top two spots. The group winner earns an automatic berth in the tournament in South Africa, while the runner-up goes into a playoff.
<b>Lineups:</b>
<b>Malta:</b> Andrew Hogg, Emanuel Muscat, Alexander Muscat (Roderick Briffa, 62), Ian Azzopardi, Brian Said, Gilbert Agius, Michael Mifsud, Andrew Cohen, Shaun Bajada (Clayton Failla, 73), Kenneth Scicluna, Jamie Pace.
<b>Sweden:</b> Andreas Isaksson, Mikael Nilsson, Olof Mellberg, Behrang Safari, Daniel Majstorovic, Rasmus Elm, Kim Kallstrom, Anders Svensson (Marcus Berg, 71), Samuel Holmen (Tobias Hysen, 58), Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Johan Elmander (Sebastian Larsson, 83).
Malta had frustrated a lackluster Sweden team with its tightly packed defense until substitute Marcus Berg's short cross from the right deflected off Azzopardi's knee into the net.
The goal saved Sweden from an embarrassing setback against a team made up mainly of amateur players that has yet to score a goal in the qualifying campaign.
"It was incredibly tough today," Berg said. "There were no open spaces to run in. ... It's tough to play matches like these, but it turned out OK in the end."
Sweden now has 15 points from eight games in the tight Group 7, where Denmark, Hungary and Portugal are still fighting for the top two spots. The group winner earns an automatic berth in the tournament in South Africa, while the runner-up goes into a playoff.
<b>Lineups:</b>
<b>Malta:</b> Andrew Hogg, Emanuel Muscat, Alexander Muscat (Roderick Briffa, 62), Ian Azzopardi, Brian Said, Gilbert Agius, Michael Mifsud, Andrew Cohen, Shaun Bajada (Clayton Failla, 73), Kenneth Scicluna, Jamie Pace.
<b>Sweden:</b> Andreas Isaksson, Mikael Nilsson, Olof Mellberg, Behrang Safari, Daniel Majstorovic, Rasmus Elm, Kim Kallstrom, Anders Svensson (Marcus Berg, 71), Samuel Holmen (Tobias Hysen, 58), Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Johan Elmander (Sebastian Larsson, 83).
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