Three wins and two defeats at home in Gothenburg had seen Sweden finish third in Group D, but there would be no home advantage in the knockout stage, and a Round of 16 clash against the Czechs with the crowd firmly against them was always going to be a tough ask.
Yet, the Swedes dealt with the pressure well, recovering from 7-4 down to level at 8-8 in the first set, before turning 9-9 into an 11-7 advantage. The away side kept nudging further clear, at one point leading by eight, before winning the opening set 25-19.
Neither side led by more than two early in the second set, before Sweden silenced the home crowd with a 5-0 run, turning 14-14 into a 19-14 lead. The Czechs rallied, cutting the deficit back to one at 22-21, but Blagult just managed to keep their noses in front, taking a crucial 25-23 win.
That gave Sweden three chances to reach the last eight, but they only needed one - following another tight start, the hosts opened a three-point lead at various moments, before the Scandinavians again put together a well-timed streak of 5-2 to level at 21-21, and then scored the final four points in a row to win the set 25-21 and the match 3-0 to reach their second ever quarter-final after 2021.
Sweden were beaten 3-0 in the group stage by Italy, and they will need to put that behind them quickly, as they will meet the Italians again in the quarter-finals in Brno on 2nd September. Italy beat Bulgaria 3-0 in the round of 16 to stay unbeaten in the tournament, losing just one set in six matches.
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