Sweden managed a 1:0 win over Korea Republic in a match that went without a goal until the 65th minute. The goal came courtesy of a penalty that was nicely converted by the Swedish Captain, Andreas Granqvist.
The Koreans were unable to get a single shot on target all true the match while the Swedes had only 4 shots on target. That was pretty balanced with the Swedes having a 52% ball possession and the Koreans a 48% ball possession.
According to Shin Taeyong, the Korean Coach, “In the second half we made some adjustments to concentrate on our speed and managed to find opportunities, but Sweden played really well. Among the 32 teams at this World Cup, Sweden are one of the tallest. They are able to take advantage of this and their physical condition.
“We really wanted to win this match. It’s unfortunate that we couldn’t win today, but now our attitude is that we have to prepare ourselves very well for the match against Mexico. They are going to be a formidable opponent. We have to find our own way to face them.”
Korea Republic will now play Mexico on the 23rd while Sweden will take on Germany later the same day.