On Tuesday, the return match will be played at Gamla Ullevi in Gothenburg, but there is not much result-wise tension left in the playoff duel.
World number five Sweden was, as expected, superior and Luxembourg, ranked 116th in the world, had to devote most of Friday evening to defensive work. 4–0 was a modest score and it would take a sensation for Luxembourg to be able to turn this around and advance to the final playoff stage.
The goalkeeper excelled
The Swedish victory in the chilly Esche-sur-Alzette was, however, not particularly impressive. A toothless away team made it overly complicated and a hard-fighting Luxembourg held out for a long time.
In addition, the home team's player of the match; First Vienna goalkeeper Lucie Schlimé made a series of brilliant saves and single-handedly kept the score down.
It was hard to break them down. We knew beforehand that they would probably park the bus. It's about having good ball tempo and, above all, quality in what we do. Sometimes we have it, sometimes we don't, says Johanna Rytting Kaneryd to SVT.
But when Filippa Angeldahl unleashed a right-footed shot in the 25th minute, Schlimé was helpless. The Real Madrid midfielder got a direct hit from distance and put Sweden 1–0 up in the far corner.
Johanna Rytting Kaneryd extended the lead to 2–0 five minutes later, after Schlimé had made a few more high-quality saves.
National team coach Peter Gerhardsson chose to start with Arsenal's Rosa Kafaji in the offensive midfield role. The 21-year-old's creative qualities are well-known, but against Luxembourg, Kafaji had just as much trouble getting it done as her teammates.
First goal since May
Sweden therefore tried to get more edge on their attacks through a number of substitutions in the second half – Kosovare Asllani, Matilda Vinberg, Anna Anvegård, Sofia Jakobsson all came on – and the latter was behind the 3–0 goal.
In the 81st minute, Jakobsson sent in a low, hard cross towards the goal and Stina Blackstenius could easily steer in the "third". It was the Arsenal forward's first goal since May.
In stoppage time, Evelyn Ijeh could seal the victory to 4–0 – the forward's first goal in the A-national team.
We're still leaving here with 4–0 and we're satisfied with that, says Rytting Kaneryd.
