Five things we learned from Sweden vs France

France were denied top spot in Group D by Sweden in a shock 2-0 defeat to the Scandinavians. The win was no less deserved for Sweden as they completely controlled the match to register their only win of Euro 2012 and bid farewell to Poland-Ukraine with heads held high. France, who were on a 23-match unbeaten streak, were victims of complacency and a rejuvenated Swedish side who played right out of the top drawer to upstage the French. We look at five key takeaways from the match:

For France, the defeat could have come at a worse time

Most of you would have already started planning assaults on the author after reading the point. But unbeaten runs such as France’s do begin to take a toll on the players, both mentally and physically, after reaching a certain limit. Complacency, over-confidence, condescension and recklessness start creeping into the players’ minds. And all you need to wake them up from their fairy tale dream is a sudden jolt like this. The manner of Sweden’s victory would have surely brought the entire French squad back down to earth after their unbelievable merry run which started way back in August ’10.

They tasted defeat on the international arena after a very long time which has given them ample reasons to get back to the drawing board and contemplate on what went wrong, take corrective measures and come out with renewed vigor in their quarterfinal encounter against the reigning World and European champions Spain. French supporters should take the defeat optimistically because the loss, if not last night, could have come against Spain. What if France would have extended their run against Sweden and would have turned up in the same boots they did against Sweden last night?

Hugo Lloris is a world class goalkeeper

France need to thank one man for keeping a degree of respectability in the scoreline, their shot-stopper Hugo Lloris. The Lyon goalie would have played the best match of his career if not for Ibrahimovic’s superb strike and a defensive disaster late in the game that led to the second goal. Although his performance was scarred by those two goals, that his defense conceded, the 25-year old nevertheless put in a commanding display, with acrobatic dives and showing great courage to fend off waves of Swedish inquisitions. If not for him, Sweden would have pumped in a few more goals, a result that might have had a serious repercussion in France’s future games.

Euro 2012 will sorely miss the genius of Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Sweden didn’t have much luck going their way in the opening two matches, both of which could have gone Sweden’s way on any other day. But there was one player who refused to bog down, who kept marching on and kept his nation’s hopes and dreams alive. That man was their inspirational captain Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Ibra’s ability and in-born talent has never been questioned, it’s his attitude and characteristic callousness that has always been under the scanner. But the artistic striker, who played in a withdrawn role for his country, was at his typical best as he showed silky skills and touches with the ball at his feet, used his height and strength to great effect. He along with Kim Kallstrom kept the Swedish engine running in times of despair. He might have bid adieu to the greatest footballing stage in Europe, but not before leaving the world mesmerized with his genius.

Benzema needs rest, time for Blanc to unleash Giroud

Karim Benzema, after a long and tiring season with Real Madrid, has looked out of ideas for a major part of France’s group campaign. His two assists against Ukraine being the two exceptions, Benzema has been wasteful, spoiling well-crafted moves by going for those over-ambitious shots from outside the box. Blanc, who made Benzema his primary option in a lone-striker formation, needs to rethink his strategy according to the needs of the situation. May be its high time he gave Benzema some much needed rest and gave an opportunity to the relatively unknown and unseen Olivier Giroud. Giroud, who has been strongly linked to a move to Arsenal all summer, made his domestic and international breakthrough last season as he helped his club Montpellier to the French Ligue 1 crown.

Sweden deserved better

Last night’s polished performance showed Sweden’s true capability as a football team. The way they outclassed and ran over a very confident French side was admirable yet baffling. Looking back at their opening two games, one gets a feeling that a certain intangible quantity called luck had completely deserted the Swedish camp. On both occasions, Sweden led at some or the other point of the game, only to let it slip away eventually. It was Andriy Shevchenko’s superb individual display that helped Ukraine overcome a solitary goal deficit meanwhile Theo Walcott inspired England to a victory in Sweden’s second game. Group D would have been such a mouth-watering proposition had some lady luck smiled on the Scandinavians.