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Saturday, May 29, 2004 

Allbäck finds his form



Finland 1-3 Sweden
Marcus Allbäck put recent fitness worries behind him to score twice as Sweden came from behind to beat neighbours Finland in Tampere.

Litmanen penalty
In their penultimate friendly before UEFA EURO 2004™, Sweden fell behind early on. Jari Litmanen - who has recently returned to Finnish domestic football - converted a ninth-minute penalty after Aleksei Eremenko was brought down by Swedish goalkeeper Magnus Hedman.

Sweden level
However, Sweden were determined not to suffer any setbacks before they begin their Portuguese campaign on 14 June, and despite the constant menace of Litmanen equalised on the half-hour through Anders Andersson.

Crucial goal
It seemed that the first half would end level, but with seconds to go before the break Zlatan Ibrahimovic sent a shot in on goal which Antti Niemi could only parry. Allbäck was first to the rebound and taped in.

Allbäck's clincher
Ibrahimovic had a lively game, and with eight minutes to go made the clincher as he set Allbäck away to confirm victory. Sweden now welcome Poland to Solna next Saturday before opening their EURO 2004™ campaign against Bulgaria in Lisbon. Italy and Denmark also await in Group C.

Source: uefa.com

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