They call football (or soccer as North Americans refer to it as) the Beautiful Game and last night's match between Sweden and England showed just why.
The game was the first ever to be played at Sweden's brand spanking new national football stadium Friends Arena in Stockholm.
And the hi-tech modern stadium was christened in spectacular style with what has been called the greatest goal ever scored.
Sweden striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic was undoubtedly the Man of the Match after he scored four goals, but it was the last of those four goals which will live long in the memory.
England goalkeeper Joe Hart made a mess of a headed clearance, giving the ball to Ibrahimovic who was 30 yards from England's goal. Without the ball even touching the ground, the six foot five inch striker jumped into the air, performed a perfect propellor kick and make contact with the ball eight feet in the air.
The ball then arced towards goal, reaching a maximum height of 25 feet. England's Ryan Shawcross raced to the goal line to try to prevent the ball from going into the net, but to no avail. After 1.9 seconds the ball crossed the line without even bouncing.
The goal was so amazing even the England fans applauded it.
England midfielder Steven Gerrard, who played his 100th game for England in last night's match, said: 'It is the best goal I have seen live.
'The best goal I’d seen before that was Wayne Rooney’s against Manchester City.
'Everyone knows how special that was, but this one — an overhead kick from 30 yards when the ball is six feet in the air — only certain players can do that. And he is a special player.
‘This was a world-class performance from a world-class player.'
Former England manager Graham Taylor said: ‘That’s the greatest goal I’ve ever seen.’
England manager Roy Hodgson, who suffered his first defeat over 90 minutes, said: ‘Ibrahimovic’s fourth goal was extraordinary and it put the tin lid on the game. It was a fantastic goal.
'But it was the second and third goals which killed us.
'For 60-70 minutes we played very well and deserved to be leading. There are lots of reasons to be optimistic.’
Asked to rate his international career out of 10, Ibrahimovic replied: ‘Ten. When I saw the goalkeeper was out of his net, I tried to put it over him. It was a good try, and when it comes off it’s fantastic.’
The game finished as a 4-2 victory for Sweden, with Ibrahimovic scoring all four of Sweden's goals. It means that England have still not beaten Sweden in Sweden since 1937. England did play well - they were leading 2-1 for almost half the match - but they could do nothing about Ibrahimovic's brilliance.
Sporting beauty: Zlatan Ibrahimovic unleashes his incredible overhead kick after leaping six feet into the air to score the wonder goal that fired Sweden to a 4-2 victory over England
Remarkable talent: The crowd went silent as the ball arched over helpless England goalkeeper Joe Hart into the back of the net - and then erupted in wild applause
Game-changer: Ibrahimovic tears off his shirt to celebrate as the crowd on both sides cheers the incredible moment at Stockholm's new Friends Stadium
Watch the goal here:
Zlatan Ibrahimovic Goal vs England 4-2 | Amazing 30 yard bicycle kick | FATV - YouTube
Read more: Zlatan Ibrahimovic scores extraordinary goal to wrap up crushing 4-2 win for Sweden over England | Mail Online
The game was the first ever to be played at Sweden's brand spanking new national football stadium Friends Arena in Stockholm.
And the hi-tech modern stadium was christened in spectacular style with what has been called the greatest goal ever scored.
Sweden striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic was undoubtedly the Man of the Match after he scored four goals, but it was the last of those four goals which will live long in the memory.
England goalkeeper Joe Hart made a mess of a headed clearance, giving the ball to Ibrahimovic who was 30 yards from England's goal. Without the ball even touching the ground, the six foot five inch striker jumped into the air, performed a perfect propellor kick and make contact with the ball eight feet in the air.
The ball then arced towards goal, reaching a maximum height of 25 feet. England's Ryan Shawcross raced to the goal line to try to prevent the ball from going into the net, but to no avail. After 1.9 seconds the ball crossed the line without even bouncing.
The goal was so amazing even the England fans applauded it.
England midfielder Steven Gerrard, who played his 100th game for England in last night's match, said: 'It is the best goal I have seen live.
'The best goal I’d seen before that was Wayne Rooney’s against Manchester City.
'Everyone knows how special that was, but this one — an overhead kick from 30 yards when the ball is six feet in the air — only certain players can do that. And he is a special player.
‘This was a world-class performance from a world-class player.'
Former England manager Graham Taylor said: ‘That’s the greatest goal I’ve ever seen.’
England manager Roy Hodgson, who suffered his first defeat over 90 minutes, said: ‘Ibrahimovic’s fourth goal was extraordinary and it put the tin lid on the game. It was a fantastic goal.
'But it was the second and third goals which killed us.
'For 60-70 minutes we played very well and deserved to be leading. There are lots of reasons to be optimistic.’
Asked to rate his international career out of 10, Ibrahimovic replied: ‘Ten. When I saw the goalkeeper was out of his net, I tried to put it over him. It was a good try, and when it comes off it’s fantastic.’
The game finished as a 4-2 victory for Sweden, with Ibrahimovic scoring all four of Sweden's goals. It means that England have still not beaten Sweden in Sweden since 1937. England did play well - they were leading 2-1 for almost half the match - but they could do nothing about Ibrahimovic's brilliance.
Sporting beauty: Zlatan Ibrahimovic unleashes his incredible overhead kick after leaping six feet into the air to score the wonder goal that fired Sweden to a 4-2 victory over England
Remarkable talent: The crowd went silent as the ball arched over helpless England goalkeeper Joe Hart into the back of the net - and then erupted in wild applause
Game-changer: Ibrahimovic tears off his shirt to celebrate as the crowd on both sides cheers the incredible moment at Stockholm's new Friends Stadium
Watch the goal here:
Zlatan Ibrahimovic Goal vs England 4-2 | Amazing 30 yard bicycle kick | FATV - YouTube
Read more: Zlatan Ibrahimovic scores extraordinary goal to wrap up crushing 4-2 win for Sweden over England | Mail Online
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