Schelin inspires Sweden to victory

England 0-2 Sweden
Sweden kicked off a year in which they will aim to qualify for another UEFA European Women's Championship with a friendly win against England in Cyprus.

Schelin double
The two countries are on training breaks on the Mediterranean island along with fellow 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup finalists Norway, with all three sides meeting over the space of five days. In today's encounter, Sweden gave a debut to 20-year-old midfielder Lisa Dahlqvist although it was the experienced Lotta Schelin who made the difference in Larnaca, scoring on 44 and 79 minutes, both times from the edge of the box.

Powell positive
England manager Hope Powell said: "There were a lot of positives to be taken despite the result. I felt we were the better side over the 90 minutes and certainly should have scored. But although we outplayed them at times, we couldn't outmuscle them, and they made their physical strength pay." Powell's team take on Norway on Thursday, with the Scandinavian rivals facing off two days later. All three nations lead their UEFA WOMEN'S EURO 2009™ qualifying groups without having dropped a point.