LEIGH, England -- Every major tournament has a slow starter, a team that struggles to justify top billing until the pressure to deliver demands they live up to the hype, but Sweden finally clicked into gear at Euro 2022 to book their quarterfinal spot with a 5-0 win against Portugal.
While the outstanding group stage-performances of host nation England and eight-time European champions Germany have rightly earned the spotlight -- both teams have a 100% winning record without conceding a goal so far -- it was Sweden that went into this tournament as Europe's highest-ranked nation.