Soccer-Mitrovic hat-trick gives slick Serbia 4-1 win over sorry Sweden

A hat-trick from Aleksandar Mitrovic set Serbia on course for an easy 4-1 win over Sweden in their Nations League B Group 4 match on Saturday to set up a winner-takes-all clash in their final game against Norway in Oslo on Tuesday.

A hat-trick from Aleksandar Mitrovic set Serbia on course for an easy 4-1 win over Sweden in their Nations League B Group 4 match on Saturday to set up a winner-takes-all clash in their final game against Norway in Oslo on Tuesday. Norway and Serbia top the standings on 10 points, with the Norwegians in pole position thanks to a 1-0 win in Belgrade earlier in the campaign, while the Swedes will need to beat Slovenia in Stockholm to avoid relegation to League C.

Sweden took the lead against the run of play through Viktor Claesson in the 15th minute but they had no answer to the physicality of Serbia's record goalscorer Mitrovic, who headed his side level three minutes later with his 47th international goal. The 28-year-old put them ahead just before the break, shrugging off the Swedish defence before heading home a corner, and he completed his hat-trick three minutes after halftime with a simple finish from Dusan Vlahovic's incisive pass.

Set to face Brazil, Cameroon and Switzerland in Group G at the upcoming World Cup in Qatar, the Serbs took their foot off the gas in the second half but still dominated a sorry Sweden team that looked short of both organisation and ideas. Sasa Lukic netted the fourth and final goal with a superb curling shot, but Serbia will face a much tougher test against Norway, who lost 2-1 to Slovenia despite taking the lead through Erling Haaland earlier in the evening, in their final group game.

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