4 days had passed and the whole of England would yet again have all eyes on the TV to see the Brits face bogey team Sweden who we had never beaten in a competitive competition, however that could have all changed with the Swedes falling short against the Ukraine and Zlatan not looking at his best despite a strong season.England 3 - 2 Sweden (Group D)
Englands lineup was different to that played against France, the Ox was dropped and the formation was changed to 4-4-2 to allow Carroll to be a classic No 9. However they would have to be wary of the likes of Zlatan and Melberg.
When the match went underway England started positively but were extremely sloppy with passing and this lead to easy throws for the Swedes and them gaining possession after long strings of wasted passing from England. However it didn't take long before a beautiful pass from playmaker Gerrard fell perfectly for Andy Carroll who made no mistake in blasting it into the net with a classic header. This really put the mood up as England worked well keeping the ball and making good runs utilising Welbeck.
This all changed after the first half though.Both teams went back out and after such a poor performance from Sweden, England would look to cruise through the second half. However when Andy Carroll gave away one of the many free kicks that he caused in the 49th minute, and a Zlatan powerhouse kick at the wall rebounded only for him to attempt an audacious scissor kick that feel kindly to Melberg, who managed to hit the ball against the post only for it to fall on Glen Johnson's stomach and into the net. This stunned England and it was only a matter of time before Melberg scored again with an unmarked header sailing past Hart causing questions on the English defence.
However Theo Walcott was brought on later on in the match and boy did he look fine. The ball fell kindly to him from a corner and he made no mistake in placing it into the net, with the Swedish keeper not being able to see the ball until the very last second. He then made a darting run before crossing the ball into Welbeck, who did a sublime finish using his heel to place the ball in the net and giving England a dramatic victory they really needed.
Ukraine 0 - 2 France (Group D)
France would be top of the group if they gained a good result against the Ukraine, but that would be easier said then done after the co hosts showed real determination to beat the Swedes beforehand.
However the main drama of the match came from the rain, lightning and thunder became so severe that they were forced to stop play and wait over 30 minutes for play to resume. Apart from that it was a fairly boring game, France scored twice with goals from Menez and Cabaye and the Ukraine looked weak and without spirit. France will hope to do well against Sweden but the Swedes will be playing for pride and may cause a shock result.
