Sweden came from behind to beat former world champions Spain
2-1 and jump ahead of the visitors to the first place of their World Cup
qualifying group on Thursday.

Carlos Soler scored five minutes into his debut for the
Spanish national team to put the visitors in front, but Aleksander Isak levelled
it up for the Swedes just seconds later.

Viktor Claesson put Sweden ahead in the 57th
minute of the game and the Swedes held on to the lead till the end. The scoreline could have been worse for Spain and only some desperate defending by
Spain’s defenders denied Isak a chance to add another goal on the
counterattack.

When Spain and Sweden met in the group phase of the European
Championship in June, neither could find the net in a scoreless stalemate. This
time, the two attacks both struck early in a vibrant showing by the Swedes at
Friends Arena.

Spain enjoyed the majority of the possession in the game, almost two
thirds, but could not make it count.

Sweden took control of Europe’s Group B with nine points
from three games. Spain fell to second place with seven points from four games.

Only the group winners directly qualify for the World Cup.
Second-place finishers face a playoff.

In another game, the newly-crowned European champion Italy
was held to a disappointing 1-1 draw against Bulgaria and lost its
perfect start to World Cup qualifying but nevertheless matched a long-standing
record.

Atanas Iliev canclled out Federico Chiesa’s opener for Italy
at the end of the first half. It was the first goal Italy had conceded in World
Cup qualifying, where it had won its opening three matches.

The draw at the Stadio Artemio Franchi in Florence
nevertheless saw Italy match Spain’s record run of 35 matches unbeaten, set
between 2007 and 2009.

Italy remained top of Group C and moved four points ahead of
second-place Switzerland, which has played two matches less.

(With AP inputs)