Sweden win but Ireland still celebrate

Play-off place
Around an hour before kick-off in Trelleborg, Switzerland fell to a 3-0 Group 4 defeat in Germany which confirmed that Ireland would advance to next month's play-offs as one of the four best third-placed teams, a unique achievement for them at this level. And the visitors gave Sweden a tough match but a rare slip from visiting goalkeeper Emma Byrne allowed Edlund in for her first international goal.

Edlund goal
Sweden, who clinched qualification in June with a 5-0 win in Ireland, made five changes to the starting eleven that beat Romania 2-0 on Saturday with keeper Caroline Jönsson coming in along with Frida Östberg, Lotta Rohlin, Lisa Dahlkvist and Edlund. The home side created some half-chances in the first 15 minutes but with nothing at stake the game soon settled down. The deadlock was broken not long before the break when Byrne misjudged a Sweden corner, allowing Edlund to poke in from less than a metre.

Draw dates
The second half was not unlike the first. After 12 minutes Sweden combined well down the left flank, forcing an excellent save from Byrne. A minute later, Lotta Schelin shot just wide of the Irish goal. Yet Edlund's goal was already enough for Sweden, who can look forward to the 18 November finals draw in Helsinki and then the tournament itself in Finland from 23 August-10 September 2009. Ireland will discover their play-off opposition on Monday ahead of their two-legged date with destiny at the end of October.