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24 mins: Wiankowska nicks the ball away from Angeldahl and motors upfield, then hits an aimless long ball which has teammate Achchinska shrugging her shoulders in frustration.
23 mins: Ilestedt comes forward for a free kick and gets her head to it, but the ball loops onto the roof of the net.
22 mins: Angeldahl finds space down the right and drills in a cross to Blackstenius, who gets ahead of her marker but can’t keep her shot down. That’s the kind of chance we’ve seen her bury on many occasions.
20 mins: Matysik gets across well to heave the ball out of touch with Janogy threatening to get beyond her. Sweden fans are here in big numbers – there are pockets of yellow shirts all around the ground.
18 mins: A Polish cross evades Krezyman in the area and Sweden break downfield, only for Blackstenius’ control to let her down with Angeldahl and Asllani arriving in the area.
16 mins: Eek! Wos dallies on the ball and is robbed by Blackstenius – and has Matysik to thank after the right-back cuts out the cross to Janogy, who would have surely scored.
14 mins: Ewa Pajor is having to drop back to the halfway line to get involved – but when she does, she sweeps a lovely long diagonal out to Krezyman. The winger has to wait for support, though, and is eventually crowded out.
12 mins: Sweden hit the bar again! At the other end, Kaneryd’s cross is this close to Asllani’s head – and moments later, Lundkist has time and space to pick out Janogy at the far post – and her header hits the top of the crossbar!
11 mins: Angeldahl is dispossessed on the edge of the area and Poland work it upfield, only for Achcinska’s attempted long ball towards Tomasiak to be cut out.
9 mins: Rytting Kaneryd gets in behind the Polish back line from Angeldahl’s pass, but can’t find Blackstenius with the cut-back. Still, Sweden have Poland camped around their own penalty area.
7 mins: Janogy picks up a loose ball and finds Asllani ahead of her, but centre-back Szymczak does well to fend her off and retrieve the ball.
5 mins: Poland get upfield for the first time before left-back Wiankowska, lacking options around her, scuffs a shot that’s on target, but easy for Falk to collect.
3 mins: The ball keeps coming back, Wos giving it away cheaply before Angeldahl sends her shot from a narrow angle high over the bar.
2 mins: Sweden hit the bar! Asllani gets her head to a deflected cross and her effort loops onto the crossbar. Poland get it clear, but not for long …
1 min: Madelen Janogy, who’s started the first two games with Fridolina Rolfo recovering from injury, gets away down the left. Her cross is cleared at the near post, and the winger can’t steer the rebound on target.
First half
Away we go, with Sweden straight on the attack …
The players are out and anthems performed under an ethereal sky in Lucerne. Sweden will be in their blue away shirts, with Poland in white shirts and red shorts.
Here’s Suzanne Wrack on a wild, VAR-heavy win for Germany.
Pre-match reading
Sweden have a midfield general from Real Madrid and an all-star attacking line-up – but Poland’s team are powered by a never-say-die spirit. Read up on both teams here:
“There’s a (frankly terrifying) 153m outdoor elevator about 8km from the stadium in Lucerne,” writes Ben Mock. “Feels like a fitting analogy for the task ahead of Poland tonight.” Frankly terrifying looks about right.
It’s finished Germany 2-1 Denmark, the eight-times champions fighting back from a goal down at half-time to secure their second win in Group C. If Sweden win tonight, both teams will be guaranteed a quarter-final place before they meet in Zurich on Saturday.
Team news
Poland (4-3-3): Szemik; Matysik, Szymczak, Wos, Wiankowska; Achcinska, Pawollek, Grabowska; Krezyman, Pajor (c), Tomasiak.
Subs: Radkiewicz, Seweryn, Zieniewicz, Dudek, Mesjasz, Kamczyk, Zawistowska, Kokosz, Jedlinskia, Slowinska, Padilla, Ademek.
Sweden (4-3-3): Falk; Lundkvist, Bjorn, Ilestedt, Nilden; Angeldahl; Asllani, Zigiotti Olme; Rytting Kaneryd, Blackstenius, Janogy.
Subs: Holmgren, Enblom, J Andersson, Sembrant, Eriksson, Hurtig, Jakobsson, Wangerheim, Rolfo, Bennison, Holmberg, Blomqvist.
Preamble
Major tournaments can be a brutal business. After months of anticipation, it can all be over in a matter of days – which is particularly tough on debutants. For Poland, three decades of trying but failing to reach a major finals came to an end with a surprise playoff win over Austria.
Poland began their Group C campaign with a creditable 2-0 defeat to Germany, but with said opponents beating Denmark in Basel, Nina Patalon’s side will likely need a result against Sweden – another former champion – or see their Euros dream end, four days after their tournament began.
Sweden, who got the better of Denmark in their opener, will start as heavy favourites but Poland have a world-class forward in Ewa Pajor, and they have overcome the odds just to be there. One result can still change everything. Kick-off is at 8pm BST, 9pm local time.
