Breaking: Sweden 1-0 South Korea: Andreas Granqvist fires his side to victory from the penalty spot as VAR overturns crucial decision in Nizhny Novgorod

If VAR can contrive to turn the most dour contest of this tournament into something exciting, then maybe it’s worth keeping around after all.

Sweden and South Korea had served up a snoozefest for over an hour in Nizhny Novgorod before the video officials intervened to ensure this World Cup’s wait for a goalless game goes on. Referee Joel Aguilar had waved away Sweden’s impassioned calls for a penalty when Korean substitute Kim Min-Woo looked to have tripped Sweden’s Viktor Claesson.

Aguilar was just yards from the incident and said no but the VAR team alerted him to take another look. On second viewing the official pointed to the spot. Swedish skipper Andreas Granqvist dispatched the penalty past Cho Hyun-Woo and a game that had been tetchy and, in truth, largely terrible had a match-winning moment.