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Home  » Sports » Ukraine beat Sweden in pre-Euro friendly

Ukraine beat Sweden in pre-Euro friendly

June 02, 2008 11:33 IST
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A late strike by Sergei Nazarenko gave Ukraine a 1-0 win as Sweden lost its final warm-up game before Euro 2008 on Sunday.

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Nazarenko fired a long shot in the 82nd minute straight at substitute keeper Rami Shaaban, who misjudged the ball's direction.

Sweden strikers Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Henrik Larsson played together up front for the first time since the 2006 World Cup and the pair delighted the homecrowd with some stunning plays in the first half.

Ibrahimovic, who has battled a knee injury this season and who has not scored for Sweden since 2005, nearly ended his national team goal drought in the 30th minute with a shot that Ukraine keeper Andrei Pjatov only just saved with his feet.

"Right now all I'm thinking about is my knee. Sooner or later the goals will come," Ibrahimovic told TV3 after the match.

"Me and 'Henke' are commmunicating well, the whole team is working well. It's a shame I didn't put in the ball," added the Inter Milan forward, who played his first match for Sweden since the 2-1 Euro qualifying win over Latvia in November.

Sweden are grouped with Spain, Greece and Russia at the European championships in Austria and Switzerland, which begin on June 7.

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Source: REUTERS
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