Olympic Games
Result: Sweden 1-0 Banyana Banyana
Date: 03 August 2016
Venue: Olympic Stadium
Banyana Banyana suffered a 1-0 defeat to Sweden in their opening group game at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
Sweden nearly broke the deadlock after five minutes, but Sofia Jakobsson could only strike the upright from 12-yards out with Roxanne Baker well beaten.
The Swedes enjoyed a dominant opening spell, although Banyana's Stephanie Malherbe managed to hold her in front of the back four.
Banyana were then dealt a blow in the 37th minute when Shiwe Nogwanya picked up a knock and was replaced by Linda Motlhalo.
Vera Pauw's charges showed glimpses of their attacking threat in the opening half, with Jermaine Seoposenwe leading the charge with a couple surging runs.
Despite Sweden's dominance in the first half, the score remained goalless as the sides entered the halftime break.
Banyana came out of the break a much stronger side and started seeing a bit more of the possession, although they struggled in the final third.
Sweden eventually broke the deadlock in the 74th minute when Barker failed hold onto a cross, which saw the ball drop to Nilia Fischer, who poked home from point-blank range.
With Banyana trailing, Pauw opted for more fire power upfront and introduced Sannah Mollo for Lebohang Ramalepe in the 82nd minute.
The South Africans pushed for an equaliser in the closing stages, but failed to carve out clear-cut openings, as they start with a defeat in the tournament.
Here's how they lined up:
Sweden: Lindahl, Sembrandt, Fischer, Eriksson, Dahlkvist, Schelin (C), Asllani, Jackobsson, Rolfo, Samuelsson, Seger
South Africa: Barker, Ramalepe, Vilakazi, Matlou, Van Wyk (C), Makhabane, Malherbe, Dlamini, Nogwanya, Seoposenwe, Jane
