Zlatan Ibrahimovic is retiring from worldwide play after Euro 2016, so Sweden need to up their game if Wednesday’s match isn’t to be his last.
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In between, Ibrahimovic saw a free-kick pushed away by Courtois, but the writing was well and truly on the wall for the 34-year-old’s global career when Nainggolan struck in the 84th minute. Sweden had to win their first Group E match against the Republic of Ireland to have any chance of progressing, but they could barely threaten the Irish goal and were heading for defeat when Ciaran Clark’s own goal got them back into the game. Now let’s hope we can take our chances.
“England manager Roy Hodgson says he does not fear anyone in the knockout stages, which is fair enough, but I do not see any teams being scared of playing us either”, Shearer wrote in a column for BBC Sport.
Time was running out on Ibrahimovic when he went close with a freekick turned away by Courtois with a quarter hour to go.
“I’m very disappointed”, Sweden coach Erik Hamren said.
“It is a little bit embarrassing – it has been attack versus defence in all three games and I never thought I’d see England dominate three games like we have done”.
In the do-or-die match against Belgium, Sweden played all out but could not get the luck.
Belgium coach Marc Wilmots remembered his own global retirement against Brazil at the 2002 World Cup.
Even if Sweden loses and fails to qualify for the knockout stages, Ibrahimovic said he would not be disappointed with such an end to his 15-year worldwide career. “He has done a lot of things for Sweden”.
“He is a big personality of football, I told him “bravo” for your career”. Wherever I go I will always bring the Swedish flag with me and be proud of it.
Russian Federation needed to win to qualify for the knock-out stage of the tournament.
He made his debut for Sweden against the Faroe Islands in 2001, played at the 2002 and 2006 World Cups and has been in their squad at four European Championship tournaments.
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Gary Cahill is confident England will soon turn domination into goals, warning their prospective Euro 2016 last-16 opponents they could be in for a “real beating”.
