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England break Swedish hoodoo

Gareth Barry's opener was credited as an own goal for Daniel Majstorovic © PA Photos

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An own goal from Daniel Majstorovic gifted England their first victory over Sweden since 1968.

Gareth Barry thought he had scored England's 2000th goal, but replays showed the Manchester City midfielder's glancing header from Stewart Downing's cross had come off the Celtic defender.

Phil Jones, playing the holding midfield role for Fabio Capello, nearly doubled England's lead after a barnstorming run through the midfield, but his shot edged narrowly wide after poking the ball past Sweden goalkeeper Andreas Isaksson.

England could have been three to the good at half-time, but Jack Rodwell's header clipped the outside of the post after Downing once again produced an inch-perfect cross from the left.

Fabio Capello made eight changes to the side that beat world champions Spain 1-0 on Saturday, and Bobby Zamora was handed his first start in an England shirt. The Fulham striker nearly scored his first senior international goal, but Jonas Olsson's outstretched leg deflected Zamora's shot wide.

Joe Hart showed why he is England's first choice with a fine save from Rasmus Elm's whipped corner, the Manchester City keeper tipping over the bar for another corner. Hart was replaced by Scott Carson at half-time, and the Bursaspor keeper faced a nervous moment when he had to scramble back to tip Sebastian Larsson's looping effort over the bar.

With just 48,876 in the stands, it was the lowest attendance at Wembley since its reopening in 2007, but Capello's young Lions earned a morale-boosting win to end 2011 unbeaten.

Meanwhile, David Villa spared world champions Spain's blushes with a last-gasp equaliser to salvage a 2-2 draw with Costa Rica. The world champions looked to be heading for back-to-back defeats after goals from Randall Brenes and Joel Campbell, but David Silva pulled one back with eight minutes remaining before Villa denied the hosts a memorable win in stoppage time.

Germany ended 2011 in style with a comprehensive 3-0 win over Netherlands in Hamburg. Miroslav Klose was the inspiration behind Germany's latest victory as he scored one and set up two for Thomas Muller and Mesut Ozil in this defeat of the World Cup runners-up.

An under-strength Uruguay pulled off a surprise 1-0 win over Italy in Rome. Seba Fernandez's third-minute goal was the difference between the two sides at the Stadio Olimpico.

France extended their unbeaten streak to 17 matches but there was little for either side to cheer in a dreary 0-0 stalemate against neighbours Belgium, while Clint Dempsey was among the scorers as USA beat Slovenia 3-2.

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