Janne Andersson’s side reaped the rewards of a relentless attacking display to secure top spot in Group F, with Mexico following them through as runners-up after Germany’s shock 2-0 defeat to South Korea.
There were no lingering effects of the embittering late 2-1 loss suffered to Germany last time out as Sweden went for the jugular from the off, though they were denied a penalty for a blatant handball by Javier Hernandez despite referee Nestor Pitana reviewing video footage.
Ludwig Augustinsson volleyed a deserved opener through the Mexico goalkeeper in the 50th minute. Andreas Granqvist rifled home 12 minutes later. Edson Alvarez inadvertently sent the ball into his own net as Sweden moved out of sight, but the silver lining for Mexico was that they advanced because of Germany’s failure against South Korea – leaving the world champions bottom of the group.
Germany had progressed past the group stage of the World Cup sixteen times in a row, but booked themselves a premature exit this year after losing to South Korea in stoppage time
