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Swedes beat defending champions Greece

By DPA,

Salzburg (Austria) : Sweden left it late, but came through in the end to beat the defending champions Greece 2-0 in a Euro Group D match played in Salzburg Tuesday.

After a dull and boring first half in which neither side created any real chances, Inter Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic finally broke the stalemate in the 67th minute with a long-range effort that gave goalkeeper Antonios Nikopolidis no chance.

A defensive lapse allowed Petter Hansson to somehow scramble the ball over the line just five minutes later to put the game beyond the reach of the disappointing Greeks.

In the earlier group game a David Villa hat-trick gave Spain a deserved 4-1 victory against Russia to top the group from Sweden.