The defender made no secret of his desire to secure three points, after receiving the man-of-the-match award from the press, despite being on the losing team.
Sweden’s brave effort to dislodge a resilient England side proved to be futile in the end, with the Three Lions taking back all three points to Krakow. Inspired by former Aston Villa centre-back Olof Mellberg, the Blue-Yellows got themselves in front after
Andy Carroll had put their opponents ahead.
Firstly Mellberg played a pivotal role in getting the ball across the line when http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/England-c749 the blushes of conceding a soft goal. But If that wasn’t a significant contribution enough for a defender, he followed it up with a
perfect header to give the Swedes the lead.
However Theo Walcott’s brilliant cameo after coming on proved to be decisive, with the http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Arsenal-c38429 winger scoring and assisting one to win the game for his country.
Although many pundits favoured the youngster as the best performer on the night, the media present in the stadium chose to give the award to Mellberg, who at first refused to lift the accolade as his side ended up with nothing to show for their efforts.
But in the end the stopper took to the podium and thanked the people responsible for nominating him, although he reiterated the fact that he would have been much better with his side securing victory rather than him gaining the award.
"It means nothing this award," he said.
"It feels strange to win something when you lose and go home. Thanks for choosing me but it is hard to accept when we have been eliminated,” the 34-year-old was quoted as saying.
With nothing to show for their efforts, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Ukraine-c3032 despite having a game in hand. But the Group standings currently do not favour them and had they won or drawn last night, they could have been in
contention for 2nd place behind leaders http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/France-c2899.
Their exit could severe consequences for the coach, but luckily the Swedes have a chance to exact revenge on the English, whom they are due to meet later this year for a World Cup qualifier.
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