Sweden super striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic 's powerful goal and midfielder Petter Hansson's lucky pickup availed Sweden to beat reigning European champions Greece 2-0 at a Euro 2008 Group D match here on Tuesday.
Sweden coach Lars Lagerback selected Henrik Larsson to play up front with Zlatan Ibrahimovic from Inter Milan, and two forwards' fine cooperation generated the opener for Sweden in the 67th minute.
Ibrahimovic dribbled forward fast to cracked the renowned Greekdefense line, with a one-two trick with Larsson, he found the far corner of the net with a powerful shot.
As the Greeks were still stunned with the shot, Hansson came upwith another blow to Greece five minutes later.
Sweden midfielder Fredrik Ljungberg had a shot blocked by Greekgoalkeeper Nikopolidis but in the following chaos, Hansson got in the right place to net Sweden's second of the night, a decisive goal to Sweden with a sweet sleep.
Tuesday's clash was the first time for the two teams to encounter in a formal competition. In 1920, the two sides met in Olympic Games - a day Greeks want to forget- they were beaten 9-0.
The overall pace of the match was not as low as many expected for this match, and the battle was tough.
In the second minute, a very early yellow card went to Greek striker Angelos Charisteas for a foul on Hansson.
In the seventh minute, the Greece's Euro 2004 hero created their first chance.
Charisteas, who plays for recently-relegated German club Nurnberg, battled his way into the penalty area and had the following shot stopped by Isaksson.
During the first half, Zlatan Ibrahimovic also got several good chances but lost.
In the 32nd minute. Ibrahimovic was very close to the opener. Alooping pass from the back ended up on the forward's head and the ball went just over the crossbar.
The first half of the game ended with a 0-0 draw.
As both teams are known for formidable defense, a goalless draw would not have been a surprise and both sides had difficulty in breaking through the opposing defense.
During the second half, Greeks turned up to be more offensive.
In the 62nd minute, however, slackened Swedish defense gave Greek midfielder Georgios Karagounis two chances to shoot, but the Scandinavians blocked both attempts.
Four minutes later ,danger was close to the Swedish goal as a Samaras cross was almost headed into his own goal by Hansson. Fortunately for Sweden, it went wide.
Then it was high time for Ibrahimovic and Hansson to stage their show.
Source: Xinhua
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