Elegant Russia dump Sweden

Russia has booked its place in the Euro 2008 quarter-finals after downing Sweden 2-0 in Innsbruck.

The scoreline flattered Sweden, as the Russians thoroughly outclassed their more experienced opponents. Goals from Roman Pavlyuchenko and returning playmaker Andrei Arshavin secured the win, and Russia can now look forward to a final-eight showdown with manager Guus Hiddink's native Netherlands.

With Spain already having qualified from Group D, Sweden and Russia were fighting it out for second spot. Sweden only required a draw from the fixture, while the Russians needed to win due to an inferior goal difference.

Hiddink rushed back talisman Arshavin from suspension in place of Dmitri Torbinsky, but Swedish counterpart Lars Lagerback opted for an unchanged line-up from the team that lost 2-1 to Spain in stoppage-time.

Right from the kick-off Russia seized the initiative, with impressive full-backs Alexsandr Anyukov and Yuri Zhirkov prepared to get forward at every opportunity. But it was Arshavin who led many Russian attacking thrusts, and Russia's first two chances fell to him.

First, he headed a dangerous Anyukov cross wide despite being in yards of space, and then his out-stretched boot failed to control a low cross after another neat build-up down the right flank.

Much of Sweden's early play was directed through the enigmatic Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and he saw an early header comfortably collected by Igor Akinfeev.

However, with each passing foray forward Russia edged closer to the breakthrough. A fortuitous cross-shot by Arshavin forced a tip-over by Andreas Isaksson and from the resulting corner, a floated ball from Konstantin Zyryanov found Zhirkov, but his beautifully struck first-time volley swerved just wide of the far post.

But the dominance finally told after 24 minutes as Russia surged ahead. Another wonderful team move down the right ended with Anyukov, whose run was not picked up by the Swedish defence. He slid the ball inside to Pavlyuchenko, who slotted the ball into the bottom corner.

It was a just reward for the Russians, whose work-rate and pressure constantly harassed the Swedes into coughing up possession in dangerous areas. Left midfielder Diniyar Bilyaletdinov had a half-chance to extend the advantage within two minutes, but he shot wide.

Sweden's best chance of the game came almost immediately after this miss. Totally against the run of play, a lofted cross from Mikael Nilsson picked out Henrik Larsson, whose clever flicked header grazed the top of the crossbar with Akinfeev stranded.

This opening proved to be the exception rather than the norm, however, as the Russians regained control, and went agonisingly close to doubling their lead.

After Ibrahimovic was robbed of possession inside his own half, neat footwork down the right played in Bilyaletdinov. He opted to leave the ball for Pavlyuchenko, but his curling effort cannoned back off the upright, and Zyryanov's follow-up was clawed away by Isaksson.

But Sweden's best spell of the match came in the five minutes before half time. Freddie Ljungberg and Mikael Nilsson both tested Akinfeev after some sloppy Russian defending, and they would have been hoping to continue with their enterprising play after the interval.

But instead, Sweden never took control, and moments after Elmander had a goal chalked off for off-side, Russia raced down the other end and deservedly doubled their lead.

Zhirkov set in motion another sumptuous flowing chain of passes, and after having the ball returned to him by Bilyaletdinov, he squared the ball to Arshavin, who powered the ball past Isaksson.

But even at two goals behind, Sweden still failed to create any clear-cut chances, as only an ambitious overhead kick from Henrik Larsson brought about a save from Akinfeev, albeit a comfortable one.

Arshavin was proving a constant menace, and he nearly brought about another goal as he was sent through on goal. This time, he nearly pressured right-back Fredrik Stoor into an own-goal, but Isaksson alertly diverted the ball out for a corner.

But with the Swedes pouring forward in search of a goal, they inevitably left huge gaps in defence, instigating an astonishing sequence of glorious chances for Russia to finally seal victory.

First, Zyryanov hit the post with a deflected effort, before Pavlyuchenko headed straight at Isaksson despite being in acres of space after a delightful cross from Anyukov.

Arshavin then released the substitute Ivan Saenko, but his cross from the right was played behind the onrushing Pavlyuchenko, before Isaksson brilliantly saved moments later after Arshavin was through one-on-one.

The final whistle was greeted with jubilant scenes from the Russians, whilst the Swedes are on the plane home despite starting their campaign with a win over Greece.

Ratings

Russia
1 - Akinfeev - 7 - Little to do.
4 - Ignashevich - 8 - Assured in defence.
8 - Kolodin - 7 - Getting better with each game.
10 - Arshavin - 9 - Influential in most of Russia's play.
11 - Semak (c) - 7 - Workhorse.
15 - Bilyaletdinov - 7 - In and out.
17 - Zyryanov - 7 - Always involved.
18 - Zhirkov - 8 - Outstanding down left side.
19 - Pavlyuchenko - 7 - Could've scored more than one goal.
20 - Semshov - 7 - Played his role well in midfield.
22 - Anyukov - 7 - Another solid game.

(SUB) 9 - Saenko - 6 - Ran hard in cameo appearance.
(SUB) 23 - Bystrov - 6 - No time.

Sweden
1 - Isaksson - 7 - Helped keep scoreline respectable.
2 - Nilsson - 6 - Under constant pressure.
3 - Mellberg - 7 - Tried hard.
4 - Hansson - 6 - Struggled at times.
5 - Stoor - 5 - Terrorised by Zhirkov and Bilyaletdinov.
8 - Svensson - 5 - No impact.
9 - Ljungberg - 6 - Not involved enough.
10 - Ibrahimovic - 6 - Faded.
11 - Elmander - 5 - Wasteful.
17 - H. Larsson - 6 - In and out.
19 - Andersson - 5 - Peripheral.

(SUB) 16 - Kallstrom - 6 - Little impact.
(SUB) 20 - Allback - 6 - No time.