Ibrahimovic rescues Sweden

Russia 1-1 Sweden

New Russia coach
A win would have been a perfect start for new Russia coach Valeri Gazzaev, whose side went ahead through FC Zenit St. Petersburg striker Alexander Kerzhakov on 56 minutes.

Late leveller
Kerzhakov beat Mattias Asper with a point-blank header after the Swedish goalkeeper fumbled Andrei Karyaka's shot from the edge of the box. But Sweden piled on the pressure in the final stages and Ibrahimovic took advantage to slam in the leveller.

Little trouble
Sweden, missing FC Barcelona defender Patrik Andersson, FC Arsenal midfielder Fredrik Ljungberg and Aston Villa FC striker Marcus Allbäck with injuries, generally created little trouble for the Russian defence.

Onopko honoured
Before the game, the Russians honoured their long-serving captain Viktor Onopko, who was presented with a new car in a ceremony attended by UEFA President Lennart Johansson.

A ton of caps
Onopko, who turns 33 in two months, won his 100th
international cap in a 3-2 defeat by Belgium on 14 June as his team were knocked out of the FIFA World Cup in the first round.

Final-warm up
The final warm-up for both teams before they begin their UEFA European championship qualifying campaigns, was played amid tight security after a blast destroyed an apartment building in Moscow last night.

Diary dates
In EURO 2004™ qualifying, Russia open at home to Ireland on 7 September, while Sweden, who lost in the second of the World Cup to Senegal, travel to Riga to face Latvia on the same day.