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For many people the match between Sweden and England has been the best of Euro 2012 so far. It was a match with a lot of strength and ambition. But the English got the best of it.  They not only overturned an adverse result, but it also sent Sweden crashing out the competition, after a previous lost against Ukraine (2-1).

It wasn’t an easy math for England, because Ibrahimovic´s team has been for many years the black beast for England: they have played each other seven times, both in the World Cup and European Championships, and Sweden has equalized five matches and won the other two.

Hogdson´s team started winning the match, thanks to Carroll, who headed the ball in the 23rd minute. It wasn´t until the second half that Sweden started to react with Mellberg scoring the equalizer goal, and then the second one that put his team ahead of the match.

The adverse result forced Hodgson to make a decision that definitely overturned the whole match on his favor:  he brought on his faster player: Walcott. Five minutes later, he tied the game.  Just 13 minutes before the final whistle, the Arsenal’s striker did an electrifying burst to cross for Welbeck, who scored the third one for England.  2-3 was the final score, a result that gave England a victory, sending Sweden off the competition.

Rooney will plays with England

Finally, Wayne Rooney will play his first match in the Euro 2012 with his National Team, after being sidelined with a two-match suspension, following a red card in a classified match against Montenegro.

To be able to count on such a great striker are good news for England. In the meantime, Ukraine fears the match on Tuesday, because it hasn’t got its talisman, Andry Shevchenko, and, on the other hand, England only needs a tie to qualify for the quarter-finals.

Wembley Stadium, London, was again the scenario of a magical night for England. Yes, it was only a friendly, but the opponent was Spain, the actual World and European Champions. This game was a biggie, and this time, Fabio Capello had it his way.

Spain played better, had the precious ball´s possession, and tried desperately to score, but the incredible England´s defensive performance won the battle, mostly thanks to Phill Jones and Scott Parker that controlled Xavi Hernández and Andrés Iniesta to perfection.

First half showed Spain´s superiority, but just after four minutes of the restart England had their reward for being patient. Bent headed the ball against the post, bouncing back to Lampard that did not miss the opportunity to score on an empty net.

Spain missed three great occasions. David Villa boosted the ball against the post and Cesc Fàbregas missed two opportunities to hit the net on the second half.

There was technical superiority in Vicente Del Bosque´s side, but there was discipline in Capello´s squad that managed to overcome their limitations and got a moral boosting victory.

On the other side, Spain failed again on a friendly against a top rated squad, same thing that happened against Argentina and Italy.

Now, concentrating on matches to come….England will face Sweden and Spain plays against Costa Rica.

One of the stars of Saturday´s night, Jagielka will not play against Sweden on due to a toe injury that has sent him back to Everton.

Jack Rodwell, Daniel Sturridge and Kyle Walker are all ready for their first England starts. Capello is also considering giving goalkeeper Scott Carson another chance in the national squad.

Capello is taking Tuesday´s match seriously. Sweden line-up includes Zlatan Ibrahimovic, a striker Capello knows well since it was him who bought him to Italy as Juventus manager. He knows he is a danger, but after his victory against Spain, for sure he feels more confident and optimist.

Wayne Rooney´s father and uncle have both been arrested in connection with an alleged football betting scam at a Scottish Premier League Football match. Along with them, seven other men were also arrested, and released hours later, on police bail until January.

The investigation focuses on Motherwell´s match against Hearts at Fir Park on December 14th. On that match Motherwell´s Steve Jennings received a red card.
Investigators at the Gambling Commission were alerted after the Association of British Bookmarkers raised concerns about a number of irregular bets on that particular red card shown to Jennings on what could be considered ¨spot betting¨.

The player is one of the men arrested, but he denies any wrongdoing.
Rooney´s father lawyer says that he is fully co-operating with police and at the moment he won´t be making any more comments.

“Spot betting” is particularly damaging since only one player of a team can participate. It doesn´t rely on the final outcome of a match, but on specific actions like miss a penalty or pick up a card.

England is set to play tonight against Montenegro and according to the national squad captain, John Terry, Rooney has his mind on the match.

England coach Fabio Capello said: “I found him relaxed and calm and there´s no problem for the game¨.

They just need one point go guarantee a spot at Euro 2012.