INNSBRUCK, Austria — With a spot in the European Championship quarterfinals on the line, only Russia looked interested.

Russia dominated a 2-0 victory over Sweden today in a Group D elimination game. Roman Pavlyuchenko scored in the first half and Andrei Arshavin, coming off a two-match suspension, made it 2-0 right after the break. That set up a match against the Netherlands on Saturday in Basel.

Russia finished second behind Spain on six points in Group D, three ahead of Sweden, which would have advanced with a win or a draw.

"We had a great game and played good football," Arshavin said. "We just got better and better. I don't know how good we can get."

They will find out if they are good enough when they meet the powerful Netherlands.

"Holland is the best team in the tournament and ... it will be very interesting to play against such a strong team," Arshavin said.

The youthful Russians outran the experienced Swedes to qualify for the knockout stage for the first time since the breakup of the Soviet Union. For Sweden, it was the first group stage exit at a major tournament since Euro 2000.

"I think we were too passive, especially in the first half," Sweden coach Lars Lagerback said. "We tried to lift ourselves up in the second half, but then they scored an early goal and it became an uphill battle."

Russia coach Guus Hiddink maintained his record of reaching the knockout stage in every international tournament he has coached. He now will take on his home country, which he led to the semifinals of the 1998 World Cup.

Hiddink's move to pick Arshavin in his starting team paid off as the playmaker picked up a pass from Yuri Zhirkov in a fast Russian counterattack and scored with a right-footed shot in the 50th minute.

The goal stunned the Swedes, who struggled to contain Russia's attack throughout the first half.

Pavlyuchenko gave Russia the lead in the 24th after being set up inside the box by Aleksandr Anyukov following a series of quick passes that ripped open the defense.