World Cup 2018: 3 Things that went wrong for Sweden against Germany

#2 Adopting an ultra-defensive approach post-halftime

Disappointment after having put up a valiant fight

Going into the break with a one-goal advantage over their seemingly superior rivals, Sweden were content with their lead in the game and decided to protect that advantage throughout the next 45 minutes rather than pushing bodies forward to get a second goal, and eventually an even bigger lead too.

It has been constantly proven that a single goal deficit can be overturned within a matter of seconds and hence Sweden must have undertaken a much more positive approach in the last half hour or so.

Their tendency to absorb the waves of pressure that Germany inflicted on them meant that there would be a single moment where the Swedish defence would lose their concentration and that is when Germany would get their due back.

As a result, Die Mannschaft kept on attacking, through the wings, from the centre and even sending in long, diagonal balls from deeper areas. Marco Reus goal served as the equalizer before Kroos absolutely thumped a free kick in the last minute of the game to secure a victory in the game.

In the whole lot of last half, Sweden had chances to maintain, shield and then try out something creative from the possession of the ball.

However, a lack of patience resulted in them losing the ball in key areas and subsequently giving away an opportunity to double their lead and gain a better position in the match.