Euro 2012: Sweden v England full-time report

Danny Welbeck celebrates with Andy Carroll

Sweden 2 England 3

Danny Welbeck scored the winning goal as England came from behind to beat Sweden 3-2 in an enthralling Group D match in Kiev.

The 21-year-old striker scored the goal which eliminated Sweden from Euro 2012 with just over 10 minutes of the encounter remaining, while simultaneously boosting England's hopes of qualifying for the quarter-finals.

Roy Hodgson's side now require one point from their final group match against co-hosts Ukraine, which takes place on Tuesday night in Donetsk.

Andy Carroll broke the deadlock midway through the first half with a powerful header from a Steven Gerrard cross – a lead England held until five minutes into the second half, when Olof Mellberg's shot trickled over the line after a touch off Glen Johnson.

Mellberg, who spent seven years with Aston Villa, beat Joe Hart again 10 minutes later, heading in Sebastian Larsson's fine free-kick as Sweden came from behind to take the lead.

However, it was a lead which lasted a mere five minutes, as substitute Theo Walcott found a way past Sweden goalkeeper Andreas Isaksson with a strike from just outside the penalty area.

And there was still time for Hodgson's men to score the winning goal, as Walcott turned provider for Welbeck to brilliantly back-heel into the Sweden net from close range.

It was a positive start by England, as Scott Parker tested Isaksson with a rifled strike from 25 yards which looked destined for the top corner, but the former Manchester City goalkeeper produced a fine double-handed save to keep the Swedes on level terms.

Larsson then struck a similar effort minutes later at the opposite end to level the shot-count, with Hart – the current first-choice 'keeper at Man City – forced to make a relatively comfortable stop.

Hodgson selected Carroll and Welbeck together for the first time in his tenure, and both were involved in a move which almost led to an opening goal.

Carroll started it by picking the ball up from a deep position before laying the ball off to James Milner on the right. The Manchester City midfielder swung in an inviting cross, but Welbeck's header lacked conviction and rolled wide of the target.

Heading might not necessarily be the Manchester United striker's biggest attribute, but it most certainly is Carroll's.

Not long after Welbeck had glanced wide, his strike-partner rose high to plant a fantastic header into the bottom corner.

Gerrard assisted Joleon Lescott's goal against France with a sublime free-kick from a deep position, and the England skipper replicated the feat with a deep cross which landed perfectly for his Liverpool team-mate to head powerfully past Isaksson.

It was a header that Zlatan Ibrahimović would have been proud of. The Swedish striker was characteristically languid throughout the match but often posed the biggest threat to the England goal.

Hart was forced to make two first-half saves from the AC Milan star, who outmuscled most of the England players at various points during match, but the most crucial thing for the Three Lions was that neither he nor any of his team-mates had hit the back of the net before half time.

As well as Ibrahimović's two efforts, Kim Källström unleashed one of his fizzing left-footed strikes over Hart's crossbar, but Hodgson would have been delighted that Sweden were limited to shots from distance.

However, the England boss must have been disappointed that his side had failed to double their advantage before the break. A fine pass from Ashley Cole released Ashley Young behind the Sweden back-line, while Welbeck and Carroll anticipated the pass, only to be left disappointed when the winger dragged a poor effort into the side-netting.

It proved a costly miss as, less than five minutes after the restart, Sweden got themselves back on level terms.

A rash challenge by Carroll on Källström handed Ibrahimović the opportunity to strike a 30-yard free-kick which he proceeded to slam into the wall, but by winning the second ball he ended up assisting Sweden's equaliser.

Mellberg was the beneficiary as he controlled Ibrahimović's scissor-kick before side-footing the ball past Hart and into the net - despite the best efforts of Johnson, whose attempt to clear to safety was futile, on the goal-line.

Johnson was then involved again minutes later as Sweden went in search of their second goal - the right-back made a superb last-ditch slide tackle to prevent Rasmus Elm from shooting, and done the same later in the half to deny Ibrahimović.

However, in between those two heroic tackles, Sweden had taken the lead.

Like Gerrard in the first half, Larsson swung in a superb ball from deep, which Mellberg headed down into the ground and past Hart for the second time in the match.

It was Milner who conceded the free-kick and he was immediately substituted for Walcott, who made a major contribution moments after entering the fray.

John Terry should have scored when he was presented with a close-range header, only for Isaksson to instinctively turn the ball over the crossbar. But from the resulting corner, Walcott sent a 20-yard strike over the Swedish defence and goalkeeper to net a priceless equaliser.

And the Arsenal winger was again involved for England's winner, with his pace taking him to the byline, where he dinked a delicate cross into the path of Welbeck, who done tremendously well to turn the ball in with his back to goal.

This was the first time that England had ever beaten Sweden in a competitive fixture, as they continue to go from strength to strength under Hodgson's management.

Ukraine v France: full-time report
Euro 2012 fixtures and results

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