Welbeck in right place at right time

Danny Welbeck had not scored a goal for England until 13 days previously but the key thing for strikers is a sense of timing and it was that knack of being in the right place at the right time that ensured the young striker topped the Castrol EDGE Index for the 3-2 win against Sweden.

The 21-year-old from Manchester United FC sealed an exciting victory for Roy Hodgson's side with a wonderfully instinctive, flicked finish following a well-timed run to meet Theo Walcott's cross with his back to goal.

A "pirouette" was how Hodgson described the finish by Welbeck, whose rating was 9.34. The goal was one of three attempts he had over the 90 minutes, and his second on target, with captain Steven Gerrard the only other England player to manage as many.

Sweden skipper Zlatan Ibrahimović was second with 8.83 points after a match where he was his team's attacking fulcrum, with four attempts on target – one a fierce drive that Joe Hart palmed behind in the second half. His hard work in bringing team-mates into play is underlined by the fact he completed more short passes (17) than anyone else in a yellow shirt.

John Terry completed the top three after a typical display of rugged defending embellished by sensible distribution (77% pass completion) and almost capped by a goal but for a terrific point-blank stop by Andreas Isaksson.

Castrol EDGE Index: Sweden v England
1. Danny Welbeck (ENG) 9.34
2. Zlatan Ibrahimović (SWE) 8.83
3. John Terry (ENG) 8.82
4. Steven Gerrard (ENG) 8.79
5. Olof Mellberg (SWE) 8.52

Key facts
1 – This was England's first competitive victory over Sweden.

2 – England had not beaten the Swedes for 43 years before winning their friendly encounter last November. Now as with London buses, you wait all that time and then two come along at once.

14 – Number of headed goals in Poland and Ukraine after Andy Carroll and Olof Mellberg's efforts.

25 – England's shot conversion rate at the EURO is 25%, the highest of all the teams.

105 – It took England's strikers this many minutes of play at this tournament to muster a shot, but it proved worth the wait.

Player view
Danny Welbeck: "I am happy with the finish and to get the three points but we are disappointed to let two goals in at the start of the second half. We stuck together and the team spirit showed. We will get get back to Poland and get our recovery done then turn our attention to Ukraine."