Zlatan Ibrahimovic scores for Sweden, but why were the majority of fans in Stockholm supporting Iran?
Sweden won the friendly 3-1, but the 'home' crowd weren't overly pleased
Your support helps us to tell the story
This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.
The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.
Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored one goal and made another in a slick first-half performance as Sweden beat Iran 3-1 in a friendly in Stockholm, where the vast majority of the 33,773 crowd at the Friends Arena were cheering for the away team.
Sweden is home to more than 60,000 people who were born in Iran, and together with their children and grandchildren they packed the stands, outnumbering the Sweden fans and creating a cascading wall of noise for much of the match.
Ibrahimovic silenced them, albeit temporarily, when he gave Sweden the lead in the 11th minute.
His clever pass found Erkan Zengin, whose chipped return was powerfully headed home by the Sweden captain at the far post, despite the best efforts of Iran goalkeeper Alireza Haghighi to keep it out.
Zlatan turned provider 10 minutes later, heading Pierre Bengtsson's cross from the left back into the path of Marcus Berg, who swept home a deft first-time finish.
Minutes later the huge contingent of Iranian fans roared in delight as their team reduced the deficit via a penalty, with captain Javad Nekounam thumping home the spot kick after Vahid Amiri was brought down in the box by Andreas Granqvist.
Reza Ghoochannejhad came close to equalising early in the second half, bundling the ball past goalkeeper Robin Olsen only to see it come back off the foot of the post.
Iran coach Carlos Queiroz urged his charges on from the edge of the technical area, but Ola Toivonen put an end to their hopes with a towering header from Sebastian Larsson's cross just before fulltime.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments