Spain relief as Villa strikes late

But Villa, who hit a hat-trick in Spain8217;s opening 4-1 rout of Russia, secured the points with a close-range finish on the break in the second minute of stoppage-time.

The result puts Spain close to a place in the quarter-finals with six points from two games, though Sweden are still in the race on three points.

Spain took the initiative early on at the Tivoli Neu Stadium with Xavi marshalling the midfield and Torres giving fullback Mikael Nilsson some early problems with his surging runs into the area. It came as little surprise when Spain took the lead, Torres getting in front of his man and steering the ball in with the sole of his boot after David Silva had clipped the ball into the area following a corner.

Largely deprived of possession, Sweden had to rely on isolated counter-attacks involving Fredrik Ljungberg and Ibrahimovic, although Johan Elmander almost equalised a minute after the Torres goal when he lashed the ball into the side netting.

11 minutes before the break, Ibrahimovic controlled an Elmander cross at the second attempt, turned past fullback Sergio Ramos and beat Casillas with an angled shot.

David Silva and Torres were both denied during a goalmouth scramble.