England send Sweden packing, France upset co-hosts Ukraine

The day’s two games in Group D of the Euro 2012 brought wins for the favorites, France and England, putting them top of the quartet. The Swedes, meanwhile, are officially out of the competition after two consecutive losses.

Andy Carroll scored with a powerful header to give England a 1-0 lead midway through the first half. But Sweden turned the game upside down early in the second, scoring twice from free-kicks.

However, England found some hidden resources to overcome the difficulties and snatch the all-important victory. Second-half substitute Theo Walcott and Danny Welbeck beat Swedish keeper Andreas Isaksson twice late in the game to go level with France on points on top of Group D.

Ukraine 0-2 France

Friday's match at the Donbass Arena in Donetsk was suspended for nearly an hour due to thunder, lightning and heavy rain forcing the players off the field after just five minutes.

When the game resumed, it was all France on the pitch. However, the Blues had to wait almost an hour before they scored their first goal.

Franck Ribery gathered the ball on the left, ran around 40 meters forward and then found Karim Benzema near the penalty area. The Real Madrid forward stroked the ball to Menez, who then cut inside and drilled a low shot inside the near post with his left foot.

France's second goal was another example of brilliant teamwork. Ribery and Samir Nasri combined before setting up Benzema, who cushioned the ball and then split the Ukraine center-halves with a perfect pass to the middle of the box. All Yohan Cabaye needed to do was to run on and finish with an angled shot.

This was France’s major win since the 2006 World Cup semi-finals. So there was finally something to sing about for French fans after their last two miserable tournaments.

After a 1-1 draw in their opening match, France and England each have four points at the top of the group. Ukraine are third with three points from one win in two games, while the Swedes can start packing their bags as they can no longer qualify regardless of the result of their final game against France.