England Beat Sweden: 5 Best Performers in Key Euro 2012 Victory

With the earlier match between France and Ukraine delayed for an hour due to lightning storms, England's fixture started slightly later than scheduled, and they went into the match knowing a win would be good enough to send them back to joint first in the group after France won 2-0.

Andy Carroll got England off to a great start with a headed goal midway through the first half, but an Olof Mellberg brace early in the second half turned the game on its head.

Substitute Theo Walcott put England back ahead before Danny Welbeck wrapped up a precious three points for Roy Hodgson's men.

England put themselves in a strong position to reach the knockout stages of Euro 2012 with the thrilling 3-2 win over Sweden, who are now eliminated from the competition. Here we'll look at England's top five performers on the night.

Glen Johnson, Right-Back

Glen Johnson was unfortunate to be credited with an own goal for Sweden's equaliser, but the Liverpool right-back was the best defender in blue this evening.

Covering through the centre, stopping easy crosses coming in from the right and supporting well in attack; Johnson had a second very good game for England.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic might have been in on one or two goals were it not for Johnson, and his tackling and reading of the game which were both exemplary.

A fine performance.

Theo Walcott, Right Wing

Introduced as substitute in the second half in place of the toiling James Milner, Theo Walcott wasted no time at all in helping England turn the game back in their favour.

With almost his first touch, he brought the ball under control from a half-cleared corner and then sweetly struck the ball from 20 yards into the back of the net.

It was a curling, well-flighted effort—but very central and just at head height as it entered the goal; Andreas Isaksson in the Swedish goal will be devastated not to have easily caught the ball, which wrong-footed instead.

Walcott then sprinted into the area down the inside right channel and, following a quick look up, found Danny Welbeck with a fine clipped cross to assist the winning goal.

It could have been even better as Walcott looked to break forward near the end with few defenders between himself and the goal, but his decision-making and pass execution just let him down.

Steven Gerrard, Central Midfield

Tackling, passing, retaining possession, breaking down Sweden attacks, leading from the front and closing down yellow shirts; Steven Gerrard was an inspiration and an example for England.

Unlucky not to score with an effort late to seal the game, Gerrard was always willing to break forward and assist in attack without negating his defensive responsibilities.

He dominated Kim Kallstrom in the centre of midfield and was prepared to push forward far more than against France, and England's build-up play benefited as a result.

Another good performance from the captain.

Oh, and his cross for Andy Carroll's goal, Gerrard's second assist in two games, wasn't half bad either.

Andy Carroll, Forward

Not good enough to be in the squad?

Andy Carroll led the line superbly for England against Sweden, becoming the biggest threat and the best option the Three Lions had to build up the play.

His header for the opening goal was nothing short of magnificent; his off the ball movement, strength to hold off the defender and leap to reach the ball were all exceptional—just take a look at the picture and see how high he gets up to score.

Carroll worked hard, looked confident, linked well with Danny Welbeck and defended resolutely too.

A great game.

Danny Welbeck, Forward

After a relatively quiet first half, Danny Welbeck stepped up to the plate in the second and helped England overcome the 2-1 deficit with good running, a never-ending work rate and most importantly, an expertly-taken goal to win the match.

There wasn't much on for the Manchester United forward, or so it seemed, as Theo Walcott's low cross came towards him on the near post with his back to goal, but Welbeck manipulated the ball beautifully and won the game for his country.

That one of Welbeck or Carroll will likely miss out on the final group game should not go against them, rather that Roy Hodgson will know he can turn to either of them to get his side out of a hole if needed, as both proved in this game they can handle this level of opposition.

Follow @karlmatchett