Austria are on the brink of qualifying for the European Championships for the first time as they lead 2-0 away to Sweden.

The visitors were awarded a spot kick in the eighth minute when Kim Kallstrom was adjudged to have brought down Zlatko Junuzovic near the byline.

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Bayern Munich's David Alaba stepped up and cheekily chipped his penalty beyond the reach of Andreas Isaksson in the Swedish goal.

Erik Hamren's men nearly got back on level terms when Zlatan Ibrahimovic's free kick looked destined for the top corner before Robert Almer managed to tip his strike away.

Midway through the half, Emil Forsberg went close to equalising for the Swedes when he brought down Kallstrom's cross, but his shot on the turn sailed well over the bar.

Moments later, Ibrahimovic was inches away from bringing the hosts level as he sent another free kick whistling past Almer's post.

Things got worse for the hosts on 38 minutes when Marc Janko's flick-on from a long throw was headed into the path of Martin Harnik, who powered the ball into the back of the net from a tight angle.

Written by
Chris O'Keefe