Ibrahimovic shines for Sweden

Sweden's Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who scored four goals, celebrates after their international friendly soccer match against England at the Friends Arena in Stockholm on Wednesday.

Sweden's Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who scored four goals, celebrates after their international friendly soccer match against England at the Friends Arena in Stockholm on Wednesday.

Published Nov 15, 2012

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Stockholm - Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored all four goals including a stunning overhead volley as Sweden opened their new Friends Arena on Wednesday with a 4-2 friendly win over England, who had six players making debuts and Steven Gerrard winning his 100th cap.

Ibrahimovic scored the first goal in the new stadium after 20 minutes when he powered the ball into the roof of the net and then equalised after 77 minutes, volleying an unstoppable shot past Joe Hart.

He completed his hat-trick by firing low past Hart after 84 minutes to put Sweden back in front and capped his performance with an incredible angled left-footed overhead kick, an immediate contender for the goal of the season.

England cancelled out his first goal when Danny Welbeck scored after 35 minutes, and Steven Caulker, one of the six debutants, scored his first goal for England three minutes later after a superb free kick from Gerrard.

Caulker, Leon Osman and 17-year-old Raheem Sterling all started for the first time, while Ryan Shawcross, Carl Jenkinson and Wilfried Zaha came on for their first caps as substitutes as Roy Hodgson lost for the first time in 12 matches as England manager. - Reuters

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