STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -A late goal from a set piece from defender Magdalena Eriksson gave Sweden a 1-0 win over Ireland in their Euro 2025 Group A3 qualifier on Tuesday, keeping the Swedes in second place despite England’s surprise 2-1 win away to France in the late kickoff.
The Swedes, who cruised to a 3-0 win when the two sides met in Dublin on Friday, struggled to break down a less aggressive but more organised Irish side in the Swedish capital, with goalkeeper Courtney Brosnan once again superb between the posts.
Aided by a battling performance from her outfield players, Brosnan managed to keep the Swedes at bay until Eriksson stole into the box to steer home a Jonna Andersson corner in the 84th minute to grab all three points.
“It hit my back, it was a perfect ball from Jonna, we had a lot of corners in the first game and in this game, and I was a bit frustrated that I didn’t get a good hit on any of the good balls that Jonna put in, but this time we connected well, it was extremely important,” Eriksson told Reuters.
With the top two teams qualifying automatically for the finals and all teams having played four games, France lead the group on nine points, with the Swedes two points behind and second only on goal difference ahead of England, who lost to France in Newcastle on Friday but won in Saint-Etienne on Tuesday.
The Irish remain bottom of the group with no points and no goals scored so far in their campaign.
“It’s all about qualifying for the Euros, we knew we’re in a really tough group and the aim for this camp was to get six points and we got them,” Eriksson said.
“We still have two extremely hard games in July (against England and France), but we’re going to do everything we can to get there in first or second place,” she added.
(Reporting by Philip O’ConnorEditing by Christian Radnedge)