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After a quiet first half, one expected the match between Sweden and England to be another cagey affair that has become typical of this fixture. Not even the most accomplished fortuneteller could have predicted the four-goal riot that followed in the second half. The match was a seesaw affair, which ended tilting in England’s favour. Roy Hodgson, quite refreshingly, chose to play a 4-4-2 formation with Andy Carroll partnering Danny Welbeck in attack, which worked in England’s favour as they started to find gaps in the Swedish midfield, especially with the addition of the pacy Theo Walcott to the mix. England won the match 3-2 after surviving an onslaught from 34 year old veteran Olof Melberg, and will now surely qualify for the quarterfinals of the tournament.
PLAYER RATINGS:-
Sweden:
Isaksson- made some good saves from shots by Terry and Parker, but was completely wrong-footed as Walcott sent a thundering shot past him. Will consider himself unlucky to have conceded three goals. 6.5
J.Olsson- should have done better marking at Carroll and not letting him win the header to score the first goal, but frankly was no match for Carroll in the air. 6
M.Olsson- had a rather ordinary first half but seemed rejuvenated in the second, and made some meaningful runs forward. 6.5
Granquist- made some decent runs down the flanks, but did not really make his presence felt overall. 6.0
Melberg- put in a good defensive performance and showed a lot of enthusiasm going forward, that was rewarded with a goal. He was also involved in another as his shot from Ibra’s freekick ended up in the back of the net, though it was declared an own goal by Glenn Johnson later. Melberg can take credit for his part. Had a brilliant game overall and is very unlucky to end up on the losing side. 9.0
Kallstrom- partnered brilliantly with Ibrahimovic and looked quite threatening especially in the second half. Also made some brilliant crosses. 8.0
Ibrahimovic- once again he was the fulcrum of the Swedish attack, tried to take on the England defense and took a lot of shots on goal from long range. Had to drop back in midfield to pickup the ball, and this seemed to hamper his attacking prowess. Had his efforts rewarded as his rebounded freekick was somehow scrambled into Hart’s goal for Swedens first goal. 8.0
Elm- had a rather ordinary game, failed to make a big impact on the outcome. 5.0
Larsson- din’t really make his presence felt in the first half, but seemed to get involved in the second and made a couple of decent runs and good crosses. 7.0
Svensson- had a decent game in midfield and played well beside Kallstrom. 6.0
Elmander- completely shadowed by Ibrahimovic, barely made his presence felt except for a couple of instances in the second half. 4.0
England:
Hart- made some good saves of shots from Kallstrom and Ibra, couldn’t do much about the two goals he conceded. 7.0
Johnson- put in a decent defensive performance, made some decent crosses from the right flank. Quite unlucky to score an own goal as he tried to scramble Melberg’s goal bound effort off the line. 7.5
Lescott- had a good game overall, was solid in defense and good going forward when he had the chance. 7.0
Terry- was beaten by Ibra’s pace quite comfortably, but still managed to come up with some crucial blocks to keep the feared striker at bay. 7.5
Cole- made some very good runs down the left flank and was good at tracking back too. 7.5
Milner- good overall performance and tracked back well. 7.0
Gerrard- made some stunning crosses early in the first half and provided the assist for the Andy Carroll goal. Was rather quiet in the second half and missed a golden opportunity as he shot straight at Isaksson from barely six yards from a brilliant Theo Walcott pass. 8.0
Parker- had a good game and took some decent shots at goal, unlucky not to score early on in the first half as Isaksson made a good save. 7.5
Young- put his pace to good use, making impressive runs, took a decent free kick but failed to test Isaksson. 7.5
Welbeck- was rather subdued in the first half and missed a good opportunity to score, but scored the all-important winning goal in the end. 8.0
Carroll- accomplished exactly what he was meant to do, made the English attack look more potent and added arial strength to the attack, scored from a brilliant Garrard cross. 7.5
Subs:
Walcott- as far as super subs go, Walcott is definitely the king. Scored within two minutes after being substituted in by Roy Hodgson by a thunderous strike that caught Isaksson completely wrong-footed. Assisted Welbeck with a brilliant cross a little later and almost made a couple of more successful assists. Definitely made the difference between the two sides. 9.0
Lustig: 5.5
Wilhemsson: 6.0
Oxlade-Chamberlain: brought in to play only in the last two minutes. 5.0
