SAINT PETERSBURG, July 3 (Xinhua) -- Switzerland coach Vladimir Petkovic admitted his team were "below par" during their 1-0 loss to Sweden in the World Cup round of 16 on Tuesday.
Emil Forsberg's deflected second-half strike was enough to hand Sweden a berth in the quarterfinals for the first time since 1994 and eliminated Switzerland from the tournament.
"We're sorely disappointed, the whole team is," Petkovic said. "We clearly wanted to do more. But we also congratulate the Swedish team as they have done precisely what they are very good at, and it has been enough to beat us."
Switzerland enjoyed 63% of possession at Saint Petersburg Stadium but could only manage four shots on target to Sweden's three.
Petkovic admitted his team struggled to create danger in attack against a Sweden side that often defended with all 10 outfield players behind the ball.
"Once they score a goal, they're an extremely tough nut to crack," he said. "We should have done better but were simply below par and not good enough to win the game. There was something missing in that match from us but in all the games Sweden have been involved in, their opponents have had a difficult time developing the emotions and momentum you need. In the last ten or 15 minutes, we tried to play with more emotion and it went better, I think. But in the end it wasn't enough."
