On Day 5 of the World Cup, VAR took center stage once again.
Referee Joel Aguilar of El Salvador made the trek over to the video monitor in the 63rd minute after a no-call on a South Korea challenge in its own box, eventually reversing his decision and giving Sweden a penalty kick.ย Sweden captain Andreas Granqvist stepped up and sent his side in front before holding on for a 1-0 victory over South Korea on Monday morning in Nizhny Novgorod.
With the win, Sweden is joint top of Group F with Mexico on three points.
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The key moment in the match took place in the 62nd minute, as Swedenโs Viktor Claesson got his foot on a loose ball first before South Koreaโsย Kim Min-woo went through Claesson to clear the ball away.
Aguilar initially waved the penalty claim away, but after about 20 seconds and a word from his assistant referees in his ear, Aguilar made the sign for VAR and ran over to take a second look. Around 20-30 seconds later, Aguilar reversed his decision, awarding the Swedes a penalty.
Granqvist, who plays his club football for FC Krasnodar in Russia, stepped up to the spot and with veteran poise, sentย Cho Hyun-woo the wrong way for the 1-0 lead.
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Sweden had chances in the first half to get on the board. Marcus Berg was alone on goal in the 20th minute but Hyun-woo stuck out a leg and deflected it away. Another chance from Berg led to another save from Hyun-woo as he kept South Korea in the match.
Following Swedenโs goal, Sweden sat deep and allowed Heung-Min Son to find space on the wings, where South Korea set up numerous half-chances. But the final pass was just missing, and Sweden was able to clear the ball out of the box on numerous occasions, holding on to victory.
Itโs a big win for Sweden, which will face an angry and pumped up Germany side coming off a loss in its first match. Meanwhile, South Korea looks to rebound against Mexico, with its spirits higher than the clouds.
