England battle back for victory as France defeat Ukraine

England had never previously beaten Sweden in a competitive fixture and things were looking ominous in this Kiev clash when Olof Mellberg's early second-half double cancelled out Andy Carroll's imperious opener.

However, substitute Walcott's introduction swung the momentum back in England's favour as he equalised before creating the winner for Welbeck to leave England in a strong position to progress and Sweden on their way home from Euro 2012.

Scott Parker produced a flying save from Andreas Isaksson on seven minutes after an improvised one-two with Welbeck, but there was nothing the Sweden goalkeeper could do about England's opener on 23 minutes.

Steven Gerrard directed an angled ball into the box and his Liverpool team-mate Carroll eluded his marker to power home a header from near the penalty spot.

Ashley Young wasted a good chance before half-time but the tables were turned after the break as Sweden struck twice.

After Carroll had given away a needless free-kick, and England had failed to avert the danger, Mellberg eventually saw his shot cross the line despite Glen Johnson's desperate attempts to clear.

If there was fortune about his first goal, the former Aston Villa defender would not have believed his luck at the space he was afforded on 59 minutes to head home Sebastian Larsson's free-kick.

Roy Hodgson responded by throwing on Walcott for James Milner and the England coach was rewarded within three minutes when the Arsenal winger lashed home a dipping shot from the edge of the area.

Joe Hart produced a brilliant save from Zlatan Ibrahimovic before Walcott's pace had Sweden retreating inside their penalty area on 78 minutes and his cross was superbly flicked home by Welbeck.

Captain Gerrard had a late chance to score a fourth, but was denied by an excellent reaction stop from Isaksson as England held on to secure a win which leaves them needing to only avoid defeat against co-hosts Ukraine on Tuesday to ensure qualification for the quarter-finals.

France sit above England at the top of Group D on goal difference after beating Ukraine 2-0 earlier in the day.

Hodgson admitted his disappointment at the two goals England conceded from set-pieces, but accepted such things can happen against sides of Sweden's quality.

He was impressed with the way his players came back, though, and was keen to savour the victory.

Meanwhile in the earlier match, A better second-half performance saw France cruise to a 2-0 victory over Ukraine in a rain-delayed encounter in Donetsk and take top spot in Euro 2012 Group D.

Dutch referee Bjorn Kuipers ordered the teams off the field five minutes into the game with a violent thunderstorm raging around them at the Donbass Arena.

However, Kuipers inspected the pitch with UEFA officials after the rain relented and with the ground staff working overtime to soak up the surface water he declared it fit to play on.

Le Bleus came out and dominated possession and chances after the delay and could have easily been three up by the break.

Ukraine goalkeeper Andriy Pyatov was in good form, denying Jeremy Menez on two separate occasions in the first half.

However, eight minutes into the second half the Paris Saint-Germain midfielder broke the deadlock, latching onto Karim Benzema's pass before cutting inside and dragging his left-foot shot beyond the reach of Pyatov.

Three minutes later, France doubled their advantage and Benzema was the instigator of the move once again as he found Yohan Cabaye in space and the Newcastle man kept his nerve and balance to slot his low shot past Pyatov.

France kept the 2-0 lead to win the contest and they sit above England, who defeated Sweden 3-2, on goal difference in Group D at the end of Friday's action.