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Late draw against Sweden ensures Euro spot for Spain; Switzerland, Finland keep hopes alive

Spain scored a stoppage-time equaliser against Sweden to qualify, while Finland and Switzerland won their Euro Qualifiers tie to stay alive.

Late draw against Sweden ensures Euro spot for Spain; Switzerland, Finland keep hopes alive

Spain's Rodrigo Moreno celebrates his stoppage-time goal. (Photo: Twitter/UEFAEURO.)

A stoppage-time goal by substitute Rodrigo Moreno ended Sweden’s merry as Spain drew the match 1-1 to qualify for next year’s Euro in a Group F Qualifiers match in Stockholm on Tuesday.

The first half went goalless after both the team failed to see the back of the net. However, a 50th-minute strike from Marcus Berg meant the home team took an early lead in the first half. But their joyful quest was finished in the dying minutes of the game after Rodrigo equalised for the visitors to erupt in wild celebrations.

Robert Moreno’s side qualified as the number one team from their Group after drawing their last two encounters. However, it was far from a typical display of dominating Spanish football against the spirited Swedish side. Meanwhile, Spain’s celebrations were tempered slightly by the loss of goalkeeper David de Gea. The Manchester United player picked up a thigh injury in the second half.

In a Group D encounter, Switzerland beat the Republic of Ireland 2-0 to keep their hopes of automatic qualification alive. With the win, the Swiss find themselves just a point behind the group leaders Denmark and Ireland and are left with two more matches. Ireland, on the other hand, have only match to play and find themselves in a tricky situation to qualify.

“The result doesn’t mean a lot in the group, we still need to get results in our next two games. If we get the points we need against Georgia and Gibraltar we can turn our attentions to Euro 2020,” Switzerland coach Vladimir Petkovic was quoted as saying by news agency Associated Press (AP). Switzerland next face group minnows Georgia in their qualification outing.

Finland continued on their merry run in the qualifiers and swept Armenia 3-0 to keep themselves alive for their first appearance in next year’s quadrennial event. Fredrik Jensen opened the scoring for Finland before Norwich City sensation Teemu Pukki scored a brace to seal the victory for his team. With the victory, Finland seat at second of Group J, nine points behind group-topper Italy.

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