England were 2-1 down and looked to have no answer for Sweden. The Swedes had fallen behind 1-0, but stormed back thanks to two goals by Olof Mellberg and were in complete control. Roy Hodgson had no answer, right? Wrong. He had Theo Walcott, who came on as a substitute and changed the match. He scored an equalizer then picked up an assist on England's winner, which was a spectacular goal by Danny Welbeck that delivered England a 3-2 win and eliminated Sweden from the tournament.
Sweden Vs. England, Euro 2012: Final Score, Danny Welbeck’s Stunner Wins It For Three Lions
Amazingly, it was Andy Carroll who got England rolling with a tremendous opening goal. He got on the end of a cross by Steven Gerrard and snapped it into the corner, silencing all of the critics who were questioning why he was in the starting XI.
England haven't been good at protecting leads and Sweden showed that when they got a pair of goal from Mellberg The Swedish defender didn't score on anything particularly pretty, but he was able to jump on a loose ball and knock it past Joe Hart to level just after halftime. Then he got on the end of a ball at the back post and nodded it home to put Sweden on top.
As bad as England has been protecting leads, though, Sweden have been worse. They blew a lead in their opener against Ukraine and did it again against England. First, Walcott hit a great shot from more than 20 yards that left Andreas Isaakson stunned. While Isaakson was frozen, the ball flew past him for the equalizer and England were alive again.
But Walcott’s equalizer couldn’t touch Welbeck’s winner. Walcott started the play, getting through the middle of the Sweden defense before cutting out a bit towards the right and crossing just before getting to the end line. It was a fine bit of play, but the cross was behind Welbeck. Apparently Welbeck didn’t care, turning and hitting a great spitting beck heel volley to find the net and deliver England a 3-2 win.
With the win, England moves level with France on four points atop Group D. On the flip side is Sweden, who are without a point in the tournament and are eliminated.
You can find our previous live coverage of the game in our Sweden vs. England, Euro 2012 StoryStream. For more on Euro 2012 and the entire world of football, follow @SBNationSoccer on Twitter.
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