Euro 2020 qualifiers, Sweden vs Spain: Key moments and match report

Spain played out a 1-1 draw against Sweden in the Euro 2020 qualifiers on October 16, 2019, in Friends Arena, Solna. Rodrigo came from the bench to score the equaliser right at the death as La Roja secure their qualification for the Euro 2020. The Group F tie concluded with Spain maintaining their 5 points lead over second-placed Sweden. Here's a detailed match report with some key moments from the game.

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Team news

Robert Moreno opted to make six changes to his side after their draw against Norway on Sunday. Captain Sergio Ramos misses out after he was suspended in the previous game. The 27-year-old Gerard Moreno was handed his international debut after his blistering start to the season with Villarreal where he scored six goals in eight league games so far. Sweden coach Janne Anderson, on the other hand, made just a single change to his side that beat Malta 4-0 last time out. Manchester United defender Victor Lindelof come in to replace Marcus Danielsson.

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Match report

The match began with Spain keeping hold of the ball, while Sweden were in search of counter attacks. Spain failed to make most of their early chances as Thiago Alcantara failed to score after the ball deflected into his path with the Swedish goalkeeper Robin Olsson already on the floor. Minutes later, the goalkeeper denied Rodri with an instinctive save from close range. Sweden's first break came in the 26th minute as Robin Quaison found himself surging onto David de Gea's goal only to see his shot miss the target. The Spaniard was forced into action once again as he made an acrobatic save to deny Quaison's header. The first half ended in an entertaining 0-0 draw where both the goalkeepers had work to do.

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The second half began with an early goal to the home side as Marcus Berg opened the scoring. De Gea made a fine double-save to deny first Berg' header followed by another from point-blank, but couldn't manage Berg from scoring after the ball fell kindly to him. The goalkeeper, however, had to come off as he sustained an injury as second-choice keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga came on to replace him. The last 30 minutes saw Olsson make a couple of good saves as Spain cranked up the pressure in search of an equaliser. In the 92nd minute, Olsson was finally beaten as Rodrigo came off the bench to score from close range. Sweden for once failed to clear their lines and Fabian Ruiz's speculative shot on goal was turned in by the striker. The second half ended at 1-1. The draw was enough to see Spain qualify for the tournament next year, while Sweden have two games to secure their qualification.

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