By Alan Duffy
Zlatan Ibrahimovic gave the watching crowd a parting gift of a stunning volley against a mediocre French side on Tuesday night. The goal, which came on 54 minutes, was fair reward from a decent performance from the already eliminated Swedes who went on to win the game 2-0, courtesy of Seb Larsson’s late strike.
Laurent Blanc dropped Yohan Cabaye for the crunch game, giving another Newcastle man, Hatem Ben Arfa, the nod along with Arsenal target Yann M’Vila. However, Les Bleus struggled to find their rhythm as an Ibrahimovic-inspired Swedish side flourished. The big striker’s goal was a thing of beauty but it seemed to wake the French from their slumber, with sub Olivier Giroud heading wide from close-range as the Group D favourites pushed for an equaliser.
However, in the end it was Sweden who would find the net again and sign off from Poland and Ukraine on a high. As for France, they now face World and Euro champs Spain in the last eight.
Photos…
Highlights to follow…
Photos: PA