Sweden striker Marcus Berg has scored everywhere he has played, except the World Cup. The 31-year-old Berg has failed to find the net so far in Russia, including a miss in the 1-0 victory over Switzerland that put Sweden into the quarterfinals for the first time since the 1994 tournament. But he is expected to be on the field again when his team faces England, which finally won a penalty shootout at the World Cup on Tuesday.
“He’s there. It’s just a matter of time,” Sweden coach Janne Andersson said after Emil Forsberg’s deflected shot was enough to beat Switzerland. “Marcus is putting in an excellent performance in this match.”
Berg looked to have emerged from the long shadow of Zlatan Ibrahimovic as he notched eight goals in World Cup qualifying, but he now has gone four World Cup matches without getting another. It was the same story two years ago, when he was goalless at the European Championship in France, Ibrahimovic’s last tournament before he retired from international soccer, as Sweden was eliminated after the group stage.