Sweden 4
Kallstrom 22; Majstorovic 52l Ibrahimovic 56; Berg 58
Malta 0
Maltese prospects of avoiding another Scandinavian nightmare looked bright in the opening stages of yesterday's World Cup qualifier at a half-empty Ullevi Stadium.
As the Swedes toiled to get in their stride, Malta, the minnows of Group One, threatened to augment the pressure on the hosts when fashioning three clearcut chances in quick succession but failure to score merely served as a wake-up call for their wounded opponents.
Sweden managed to take the lead midway through the first half but were unable to increase their advantage until half-time.
On the back of their robust first-half showing, Malta looked capable of keeping the Swedes at bay but the loss of another goal early in the second half not only undid their good work but led to a drastic collapse by the visitors.
Suddenly, the perennial failings that have haunted the Maltese for ages in the international sphere resurfaced as Dusan Fitzel's men lost composure, tactical shape and the will to fight.
That Malta conceded three goals in six second-half minutes shows the extent of their psychological decline.
Fitzel cut a desolate figure in the dug-out as Sweden pressed home their superiority but, perhaps, he waited too long to try and refresh things.
Andrew Hogg received Fitzel's go-ahead to guard Malta's goal as Justin Haber was named as a substitute at the expense of Mario Muscat who had to watch from the stands.
The other player who failed to make the cut was Ian Azzopardi with Kenneth Scicluna taking his place in the 18-man pool.
Fitzel kept faith with Luke Dimech, Malta's captain in the absence of Gilbert Agius, and Jonathan Caruana in central defence but Andrei Agius was also on the starting grid. He has spent most of his fledgling career in the centre-half position but Fitzel, perhaps wary of Sweden's aerial prowess, elected to deploy the Igea Virtus defender at right-back. The left-back role was occupied by Shawn Bajada while the three central midfielders were John Hutchinson, Jamie Pace and Andre Schembri.
The other surprise in Malta's formation was the omission of Andrew Cohen who paid the price for what Fitzel deemed to be a poor performance in the first half of last week's friendly against the Czech Republic.
His place on the left of midfield was taken by Roderick Briffa with Alex Muscat deployed on the other side.
Daniel Bogdanovic was Malta's attacking spearhead.
Sweden played 4-4-2 with Zlatan Ibrahimovic, yesterday elevated to team captain in the absence of Henrik Larsson, operating alongside Marcus Berg.
The sight of singer Kevin Borg giving a rousing rendition of the two national anthems ought to have provided our team with a confidence booster. Like most of our players, he comes from a tiny island but that didn't hinder him from striking success in Sweden where the young entertainer is a celebrity.
Seven minutes from the start Ibrahimovic stepped up to take a free-kick deep in Malta's half but his drive was headed away by Dimech. Ibrahimovic then laid the ball back for Anders Svensson whose first-time effort sailed just over the bar.
At the other end, Malta won a corner thanks to Schembri's persistence. Briffa's cross appeared to have been cleared but Muscat charged clear on the right and unleashed a diagonal shot that flashed just wide.
Sweden looked edgy in this initial phase and Malta almost punished them on 11 minutes.
Muscat, again, stormed forward on the right before letting fly a dipping shot that Andreas Isaksson, stretching back, just managed to palm away. The rebound fell to Bogdanovic but his point-blank shot was again repelled by Isaksson. The danger was not over as Briffa pounced on the loose ball but skied his shot.
So, Sweden survived but their let-off triggered a barrage of boos from the home crowd.
In their next foray, Sweden would have taken the lead but for Dimech's goal-line clearance from Ibrahimovic's header. The towering striker had outjumped Caruana and Hogg to meet Vicktor Elm's centre from the left.
Sweden broke the deadlock midway through the half. Svensson raced clear on the right but the ball appeared to have crossed the byline when the Sweden winger lofted it towards Rasmus Elm at the far post. His acrobatic volley cannoned off the woodwork but Kim Kallstrom was on hand to head the ball in.
Five minutes later, Behrang Safari floated a cross inside the box and Kallstrom turned adroitly to hit a powerful volley that grazed the bar.
Buoyed by their opener, Sweden piled the pressure on Malta. Receiving a cross in a dangerous position, Berg shot towards goal but his effort was blocked by Agius.
Danger loomed for Fitzel's men when Ibrahimovic nipped behind the back-tracking Malta defence and glided past the on-rushing Hogg. As the Sweden captain paused to keep the ball in play, the Malta keeper slid in to dispossess Ibrahimovic.
Eleven minutes from half-time, Malta embarked on a rare foray inside Sweden's half as Schembri delivered a perfect ball towards Muscat. The Sliema wing-back, one of our most creative players in the first half, darted into the box and tried to serve Bogdanovic at the far post but the Swedes cleared.
Although the hosts enjoyed more possession in that opening period, it was refreshing to see the Maltese making a concerted effort to be constructive when in possession.
The second half was less than two minutes old when Ibrahimovic advanced through the middle and summoned a powerful shot that Hogg touched around his near post.
Bogdanovic then made a good run on the left and beat Majstorovic but his diagonal effort was easily saved by Isaksson.
On 49 minutes, Kallstrom was denied a second goal by Dimech who hooked his effort off the line. This proved a temporary reprieve for Malta as Sweden made it 2-0 seven minutes into the second half.
Malta's shortcomings when defending against tall players were evident as Majstorovic dashed in to head Kallstrom's corner past Hogg.
As Maltese heads dropped, Sweden turned the screw.
The home fans were on their feet again on 56 minutes when Ibrahimovic, capitalising on a miscued clearance, entered the box and guided the ball over Hogg.
3-0 swiftly became 4-0 as Ibrahimovic exchanged passes with Elm before delivering a low cross for the unmarked Berg to poke home.
With the Maltese team against the ropes, Kallstrom floated a hopeful ball into the box but as Hogg and Dimech foundered, Elm lob's went over the bar.
Hogg then foiled Elm when pushing his rising shot away for a corner. From the flag-kick, taken by Rasmus Elm, Olof Mellberg's header came off the upright.
The game continued to flow towards the Malta goal, Hogg denying Ibrahimovic with a timely block.
Five minutes from time, Sweden came agonisingly close to increasing their lead when substitute Tobias Hysen burst through but his shot was warded off by Hogg.
Hysen's follow-on effort was headed away by the indefatigable Dimech who was voted Malta's best player by a panel of experts.
The award for the best Swedish performer went to Kallstrom.
Aftermatch comments
Dusan Fitzel
"I was very satisfied with our performance in the first half. We played well and kept Sweden away from our goal but they scored with their first chance. We had the opportunity to take the lead before they opened the score but, again, we missed two easy chances.
"At half-time, I asked the players to keep their concentration and be patient but the team lost its way in the first 15 minutes of the second half."
Lars Lagerbackk
"Our performance in the second half was excellent. In the first period, we didn't play very well but this was also due to Malta's good showing.
"They defended well and troubled us on a few occasions but in the second half, we were superior."
Sweden
A. Isaksson, B. Safari, O. Mellberg, D. Majstorovic, A. Johansson, V. Elm ('80 S. Holmen), R. Elm ('77 S. Larsson), A. Svensson, K. Kallstrom, Z. Ibrahimovic, M. Berg ('77 T. Hysen).
Malta
A. Hogg, J. Caruana, S. Bajada, A. Agius ('85 E. Muscat), J. Hutchinson, L. Dimech, R. Briffa, D. Bogdanovic, A. Muscat ('88 K. Sammut), A. Schembri ('78 R. Fenech), J. Pace.
Referee: Calum Murray (Scotland).
Attendance: 25,271.
Malta players' ratings: Hogg-6, Caruana-6, Bajada-5.5, Agius-6.5, Hutchinson-5.5, Dimech-7, Briffa-5, Bogdanovic-6, Muscat-6.5, Schembri-6, Pace-5.5.