Stina Blackstenius sparkles as Sweden secure quarter-final spot and dump Poland out of Euro 2025

Sweden hit the bar twice and found the back of the net once in the opening 45 minutes. They meant business right from the first whistle, and Peter Gerhardsson was seen walking down the tunnel shaking his head at the end of the first half as he clearly expected his troops to have put the match to bed after a dominant first-half performance.

Kosovare Asllani was denied by the woodwork in the second minute, and 10 minutes later, Madelen Janogy let out a cry in frustration as her header hit the top of the crossbar. However, their persistence paid off just before the half-hour mark when Blackstenius headed home an inch-perfect cross from Assalni to open the scoring. It was simply one-way traffic for the rest of the half, and they ended up putting in 23 crosses into the box, with the Arsenal striker as their target.

The relentless pressure continued in the second half, and it was just a matter of time before it seemed that Sweden would get their insurance goal. Six minutes after the resumption, the Swedish bench once again jumped in jubilation as their skipper nodded home the second after meeting another accurate cross from Johanna Rytting Kaneryd. The marking was horrible as Asslani had all the time and space to place an effort at the corner, giving Kinga Szemik no chance to stop her net from bulging for the second time.

The writing was clearly on the wall and Sweden's dominance was finally reflected in the scoreline when Lina Hurtig scored the third header of the match from a corner in the 77th minute. Once again, the marking was amateur, and the ruthless Swedish team made Poland pay dearly for their lack of organisation at the back.

Blackstenius was simply sensational for Sweden and finished the match with eight shots, three on target, and one goal. She kept the two centre-backs on their toes and carved out several scoring chances. Had she been a bit more clinical, the Arsenal striker could have gone home with the match ball in her bag.

Polish left-back Martyna Wiankowska had an evening to forget. Kaneryd and Asslani would often double up on the wing-back, and with little help from Paulina Tomasiak, she was left tormented for the bulk of the match. Incidentally, both field goals were scored through crosses from the right.

Following this result, both Sweden and Germany have now qualified for the knockouts. However, when the two teams meet on Sunday in the final game of Group C, they will be giving their all to claim pole position.