Sweden have gone level with Mexico at the top of Group F at the ongoing FIFA World Cup in Russia following their 1-0 win over their Asian opponents South Korea.

The Europeans dominated proceedings from start to finish and were good value for the win.

The 1958 World Cup hosts were kept at bay in the first half by South Korea goalkeeper Cho Hyun-Woo who thwarted Sweden striker Marcus Berg with a close range save off the best chance of the half.

The trend witnessed in the first half continued after the interval and the Swedes were rewarded twenty minutes into the half following the award of a penalty to the Europeans via the effective Video Assistant Referees (VAR) Technology.

VAR was needed after Marcus Berg was upended in the box and captain Andreas Granqvist didn’t make any mistake from the spot as he shot his side into the lead.

It was the first World Cup goal scored by Sweden since when legendary striker Henrik Larsson scored against England during the 2006 edition.

South Korea were much improved afterwards in search of an equaliser but the Swedes held on for a crucial win in Group F.

The win represents the first opening match success recorded by the Europeans since then defeated Mexico 3-0 at the 1958 World Cup tournament on home soil.

South Korea will now attempt to resurrect their campaign when they face Mexico in their second group game, while Sweden face world champions Germany.

Sweden and Mexico occupy joint top in the group with three points while Germany and South Korea are joint bottom with zero points to show after the conclusion of the first round of games.