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902 vs. Sweden
 
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915 vs. Sweden
Friday, 15 June 2012
2012 European Championship Finals First Phase Group D, Match Three


Sweden 2 England 3 [0-1]
 

Natsional'nyî Sportyvnyî Kompleks Olimpiyskyi, Pechersk, Kyiv, Ukraine
Kick-off (EEST): 8.01pm 6.01pm BST
...delayed for an hour because the other Group D match, Ukraine vs. France, was suspended.

Attendance: 48,876 (to 70,000
).

Johan Elmander kicked-off 95 minutes 46:06 & 49:03
  [0-1] Andy Carroll header 23 22:44
powerful header from 12 yards following an accurate Gerrard cross
[1-1]Glen Johnson own goal 49 48:35
 Hart saved Mellberg's shot, pushing it into Johnson's chest and over the line off post

[2-1] Olof Mellberg header 59 58:16
 
Jumped higher unopposed to head down from 6 yards from a Larsson free-kick




[2-2] Theo Walcott 64
63:32
 27 yard right-footed shot after Jonas Olson headed away a Young corner
[2-3] Danny Welbeck backheel 78 77:15
 a flick with the back of his heel following Walcott's powerful pass into centre
 

Olof Mellberg
63 62:31
Jonas Olsson
72 71:16
Anders Svensson
90+1 90:16
James Milner 58 57:20
Commentator: Guy Mowbray with Mark Lawrenson
 

Match Summary

Officials from Slovenia

Sweden Squad

Type

England Squad
Referee (blue) - Damir Skomina
3
5 (5 August 1976), Koper, FIFA-listed 2003.
(third match, W 1 - D 1 - L 1 - F 5: A 5)
Assistant Referees -
Primoz Arhar, 44 (19 May 1968), Vrhnika, and Matej Zunič, 29 (11 May 1983).
Matej Zunič is a replacement for original assistant referee, Marko Stančin, 43 (5 April 1968), from Ljubljana. He had failed a fitness pre- Finals.
Fourth official - Florian Meyer, 43 (21 November 1968), Braunschweig, Germany, FIFA-listed 2002.
Additional Referees - Matej Jug
, 31 (25 September 1980) and Slavko Vinčić, 32 (25 November 1979).
Reserve Assistant Referee - Jan-Hendrik Salver
, Germany
UEFA evaluator - Jozef Marko, Slovakia
12 Goal Attempts 15
8 Attempts on Target 9
0 Hit Bar/Post 0
3 Corner Kicks Won 3
0 Offside Calls Against 0
14 Fouls Conceded 10
48% Possession 52%

Sweden Team

 

Rank:

FIFA (6 June 2012) 17th
EFO ranking Group 6

ELO rating 15th to 16th
Colours: Made by Umbro - Yellow v-neck jerseys with blue pinstripes, yellow collar with blue trim, blue shorts, yellow socks with blue calf hoops.
Capt: Zlatan Ibrahimović Manager: Erik Anders Hamrén, 54 (27 June 1957), appointed part-time Head Coach 4 November 2009, full-time from 1 September 2010.
26th match.

Marcus Christian Allbäck, appointed Players Manager 7 November 2009.
Sweden Lineup
1 Isaksson, Andreas 30
256 days
3 October 1981 G Philips Sport Vereniging NV, Netherlands 95 0
4 Granqvist, Andreas, off 66th min. 27
60 days
16 April 1985 RB Genoa CFC, Italy 20 2
3
Mellberg, E. Olof 34
286 days
3 September 1977 CD Olympiacos Club of Fans of Piraeus, Greece 116 8
Mellberg cautioned in the 63rd minute for a Foul, following a late challenge on Andy Carroll outside the Swedidh side of the centre-circle
13 Olsson, Jonas 29
97 days
10 March 1983 CD West Bromwich Albion FC, England 9 0
Jonas Olsson cautioned in the 72nd minute for a Ungentlemanly Conduct, after blocking Joe Hart's clearance.
5 Olsson, Martin T.W. 24
29 days
17 May 1988 LB Blackburn Rovers FC, England 11 4
7 Larsson, Sebastian B.U. 26
9 days
6 June 1985 RM Sunderland AFC, England 43 5
8 Svensson, Anders G. 35
334 days
17 July 1976 CM IF Elfsborg 129 18
Svensson cautioned in the 91st minute for Unsporting Behaviour, for complaining at the free-kick that had just been awarded against him.
9 Källström, Kim 29
296 days
24 August 1982 CM Olympique Lyonnais, France 94 16
6 Elm, Rasmus C., off 81st min. 24
90 days
17 March 1988 LM Alkmaar Zaanstreek, Netherlands 26 1
10 Ibrahimović, Zlatan 30
256 days
3 October 1981 AM AC Milan, Italy 79 32
11 Elmander, Johan E.C., off 78th min. 30
19 days
27 May 1981 CF Galatasaray ŞK, Turkey 65 16
Sweden Substitutes
scoreline: Sweden 2 England 2
2 Lustig, C. Mikael, on 66th min. for Granqvist 25
185 days
13 December 1986 RB The Celtic, Scotland 26 1
22 Rosenberg, N. Markus, on 78th min. for Elmander 29
262 days
27 September 1982 CF unattached 33 6
scoreline: Sweden 2 England 3
21 Wilhelmson, Christian U., on 81st min (80:46) for Elm 32
190 days
8 December 1979 LM Al-Hilal Saudi FC, Saudia Arabia 76 9
result: Sweden 2 England 3
unused substitutes: 12-Johan Wiland, 14-Tobias Hysén, 15-Mikael Antonsson, 16-Pontus Wernbloom, 17-Behrang Safari, 18-Samuel Holmén, 19-Emir Bajrami, 20-Ola Toivonen, 23-Pår Hansson.
 
4-4-2(1-1) Isaksson -
 Granqvist
(Lustig), Mellberg, J.Olsson, M.Olsson -
Larsson, Svensson, Källström, Elm
(Wilhelmson) -
Ibrahimović -
Elmander
(Rosenberg).
Averages (Starting XI): Age 29 years 193 days Appearances/Goals 62.5 9.2

 

England Team

 

Rank:

FIFA (6 June 2012) 6th
EFO ranking Group 3

ELO rating 7th to 6th
Colours: The 2011 away shirt - Galaxy blue collared jerseys with regatta blue collar, galaxy blue shorts, galaxy blue socks with regatta blue tops.
Capt: Steven Gerrard
(19th (38) captaincy (3))
Manager: Roy Hodgson, 64 (9 August 1947), appointed 1 May 2012,
4th match, W 3 - D 1 - L 0 - F 6 - A 3.
England Lineup
1 Hart, C. Joseph J. 25
57 days
19 April 1987 G Manchester City FC 20  14ᵍᵃ
the 158th player to reach the 20-app milestone
2 Johnson, Glen M. 27
297 days
23 August 1984 RB Liverpool FC 38 1
¹
the 27th own goal conceded by England
     
6 Terry, John G. 31
191 days
7 December 1980 CD Chelsea FC 75 6
15 Lescott, Joleon P. 29
304 days
16 August 1982 CD Manchester City FC 18 1
3 Cole, Ashley 31
178 days
20 December 1980 LB Chelsea FC 96 0
16 Milner, James P., off 61st min. 26
163 days
4 January 1986 RM Manchester City FC 28 0
58th min., after Martin Olsson got away from him tripping him with a poor tackle.
     
4 Gerrard, Steven G. 32
16 days
30 May 1980 CM Liverpool FC 94 19
17 Parker, Scott M. 31
246 days
13 October 1980 CM Tottenham Hotspur FC 15 0
11 Young, Ashley S. 26
342 days
9 July 1985 LM Manchester United FC 23 6
22 Welbeck, Daniel N.T.M., off 90th min. 21
202 days
26 November 1990 RF Manchester United FC 7 2
9 Carroll, Andrew T. 23
161 days
6 January 1989 LF Liverpool FC 5 2
England Substitutes
scoreline: Sweden 2 England 1
7 Walcott, Theo J., on 61st min. (60:30) for Milner 23
91 days
16 March 1989 RM Arsenal FC 26 19 4
7
scoreline: Sweden 2 England 3
20 Oxlade-Chamberlain, Alexander M.D., on 90th min (89:13) for Welbeck 18
305 days
15 August 1993 RF Arsenal FC 4 2 0
2
result: Sweden 2 England 3
unused substitutes: 8-Jordan Henderson, 12-Leighton Baines, 13-Rob Green, 14-Phil Jones, 18-Phil Jagielka, 19-Stewart Downing, 21-Jermain Defoe, 23-Jack Butland.

team notes:

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's father, Mark Chamberlain, also played for England (1982-84).

records:

Theo Walcott is the fourth player to score as a substitute at the Finals of a Major Tournament.
Manager Roy Hodgson was in charge of Switzerland against Sweden for a friendly victory in August 1993 (2-1), and also in the European Championship qualifying matches on October 1994 and September 1995 (4-2 & 0-0). He was in charge of Finland against Sweden in a May 2006 friendly (0-0).
 
4-4-2 Hart -
Johnson, Terry, Lescott, Cole -
Milner
(Walcott), Gerrard, Parker, Young -
Welbeck
(Oxlade-Chamberlain), Carroll.
Averages (Starting XI): Age 27 years 363 days Appearances/Goals 38.0 3.2

 

    Match Report by Mike Payne

Well now, where do I start with this one?  All the tradition of this fixture was stacked against England, with their record against the Swedes in tournament play nothing short of disastrous.  But these records are there to be broken and England, albeit through a torturous route, achieved their goal.  The boys have finally come to the party!

For the first five minutes it was cat and mouse between the teams as they felt each other out.  Most of the players, of both sides, were very familiar to each other through the Premier League fixtures, and both knew what the other could do.  In the 7th minute though, England made the first noteworthy goal attempt, when a snapshot by Scott Parker was palmed away by Andreas Isaksson in the Swedish goal.  In fact England were gradually gaining the advantage and they were working hard all around the team.  Ashley Cole's touch let him down when in a good position but then great play by Andy Carroll and James Milner ended with a good cross into the box.  Danny Welbeck met the ball with his head, but couldn't quite get either the purchase or the direction and the effort went wide.

Sweden's main threat, predictably, was coming from Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and the AC Milan player hit a strong shot from distance that Joe Hart dived to his right to save.  At this stage the centre of the midfield was tight and congested, but on 23 minutes England fashioned a wonderful goal.  Skipper Steven Gerrard picked up a clearance out on the right and then delivered a peach of a cross into the path of the marauding Carroll.  The Liverpool striker nipped in front of the defender and powered in a magnificent header from 15 yards out.  Tommy Lawton and Nat Lofthouse would have been proud of that one!

No doubt flashbacks went through the England fans minds though, as we had taken the lead in several previous clashes with the Swedes, but this time it would be different wouldn't it?

Some defensive sloppiness by England gave Sweden half-chances but on the whole the Three Lions were fairly comfortable with things.  Ibrahimovic continued to cause some concern and again he made Hart work with another effort.  The lively Seb Larsson too, hit a long range shot that Hart was also equal to.  On 35 minutes though England had another great chance when Cole's clever pass sent Ashley Young clear and attacking the penalty box.  Unfortunately the Manchester United striker chose the wrong option and elected to shoot when a pull back to the advancing Carroll would probably have been the better choice.  The ball hit the side-netting.  At the other end more sloppiness, this time from Glen Johnson, gave Kim Kallstrom a chance, but he shot over.  England can never fully rid themselves of their infuriating habit of giving the ball away in crucial areas and bringing pressure onto their defence that they should not have to experience.

As the half ended though, better play on the right ended with an overhit cross from Milner and then a great turn by Welbeck was met by an equally fine tackle from Jonas Olsson.  Finally Hart cut out a dangerous low cross from the right as England went in at the break with their one goal lead intact.  Apart from Ibrahimovic, Sweden seemed to have little to offer so it was a satisfied England team that trooped off for a cuppa. 

With Sweden facing elimination if they lost this game, they came out after the interval with a renewed determination.  All England had to do was match that extra effort, but within three minutes their lead was wiped out and they were distinctly put on the back foot.  Carroll was penalised for a foul on the edge of the area, a bit unlucky that, as he had just been fouled previously without it being punished.  Needless to say it was Ibrahimovic who lined up the kick and his shot was blocked by the wall.  But the ball bounced back to the Swede and he then tried to volley a shot at goal.  The ball skewed off the outside of his foot but fell straight to the unmarked Olof Mellberg, with Johnson putting him onside.  Mellberg shot, Hart pushed it away, but the ball struck Johnson and the Liverpool player could not stop it going over the line for an own goal.  Not only was it an awful goal to concede but it was so frustrating that England had let Sweden back into it.

In the ten minutes after the break England had played as poorly as they had for some considerable time.  Suddenly everyone looked leaden footed, and there was no sign of the team finding a way out of this rut.  On 59 minutes the inevitable happened following another needlessly conceded free-kick, this time by Milner.  Larsson's well-flighted free-kick was completely messed up by the England defence and Mellberg had a free header.  Another awful goal from England's point of view, and to be honest, at this stage there seemed no way back for the team.  They did win a corner, but from it Sweden broke quickly and Ibrahimovic almost scored at the other end.

But then came a turning point in the game as Roy Hodgson decided to replace the off-form Milner with Theo Walcott.  Immediately England were visibly lifted and John Terry looked certain to score with a close range header, but somehow Isaksson turned the ball over the bar.  From the corner the ball was cleared to the edge of the box and Walcott picked it up and let fly from 20 yards.  This time the keeper was beaten as the ball dipped and swerved.  Two each!

This lifted England out of their slumbers and Gerrard almost burst through, and then Cole, Gerrard and Parker forged a chance for Carroll to shoot just over.  A young free-kick also went over whilst at the other end Kallstrom hit a shot wide after more poor defensive play by England.  Hart tipped an Ibrahimovic shot around a post and then, amazingly, England regained the lead.

In the 77th minute Walcott again gained possession and this time he darted between two defenders into the penalty box.  When his low cross came over Welbeck somehow twisted his body to back-heel with his right foot wide of the keeper.  It was an extraordinary finish as the striker had his back to goal. 

In the remaining minutes there were few alarms for England and in fact it was they that fashioned the two best chances from swift counter-attacks.  First Parker shot over from a great position and then in the 92nd minute Gerrard seemed certain to score only for Isaksson to once again save the day for Sweden.

This was an amazing game, and in the end all England rejoiced in the win, but boy, we do make things hard for ourselves at times.  But credit to the undoubted spirit in this squad of players, and also credit the manager for making a very decisive substitution which proved a masterstroke.

  

Source Notes

TheFA.com
BBC Sport
UEFA.com
Mike Payne - football historian and contributor
cg