Sweden beats North Korea 1-0 in Women’s World Cup

Posted Sunday, July 03, 2011 by YAHOO Sport

AUGSBURG, Germany (AP)—Sweden moved to the brink of the quarterfinals at the Women’s World Cup, defeating North Korea 1-0 Saturday on a second-half goal by Lisa Dahlkvist.

North Korea, which started five teenagers, wilted late in the game and was all but eliminated from the tournament after two losses in two games.

The United States can join the Swedes at the top of Group C—putting both teams among the last eight—if it beats Colombia in a later game in Sinsheim

Sweden scored in the 64th minute when Linda Forsberg crossed into the middle and Therese Sjogran picked out the unmarked Dahlkvist for a simple finish from close range.

North Korea nearly tied it in the 73rd minute when Ri Un-hyang’s header from a corner kick was cleared off the line by Sara Thunebro.

“Unfortunately, we really didn’t convert the chances that we had,” North Korea coach Kim Kwang-Min said.

Sweden would have won by a wider margin had tall strikers Lotta Schelin and Jessica Landstrom shown a more polished finishing touch.

“Anyway, for me, it doesn’t matter. I am satisfied,” coach Thomas Dennerby said. “Hopefully, we have lots of games left for the Swedish team, and they can create chances and score then.”

For North Korea, featuring a 16-year-old midfielder in Kim Su-Gyong, it was always was going to be a challenge against an experienced and towering Swedish squad.

“They are very young and haven’t got a lot of experience,” coach Kim said. “In the second half they had much less energy. They also lacked concentration and we didn’t convert the chances.”

From the outset, Sweden took the game to North Korea, and Schelin saw a shot in the second minute sail just wide.

The North Koreans, who had also held the U.S. to a goalless stalemate until the second half of their opener before losing 2-0, managed to keep a neat passing game going for an hour— but struggled to create any real chances.

The Swedes had opportunities before halftime and just after the break, with Dahlkvist missing a clear chance on the counterattack. North Korea survived a frantic goalmouth scramble in the 52nd minute, two minutes before Dahlkvist broke the deadlock.

The only disappointment for Sweden came in the 60th minute when captain Caroline Seger was drew a yellow card for a run-in with the referee. She will miss her team’s final group game against the U.S.

For the North Koreans, the World Cup has proved a valuable experience.

“They have learned a lot,” the coach said. “In four years time, we will show a stronger team to the world.”