It was the kind of goal you would have expected Zlatan Ibrahimovic to decide, a long-range rasper that thumped into the net. However, unfortunately for Ibrahimovic and Sweden, that stunning strike came off the boot of Radja Nainggolan, with that goal giving Belgium a 1-0 win in this Group E encounter of Euro 2016 in Nice and ending Ibrahimovic's stellar career in a Sweden shirt.
Needing a win to stay alive in Euro 2016, Sweden gave it their all, with Ibrahimovic desperate to prolong his international career, but Belgium's outstanding depth shone through in the end, as Nainggolan, their holding midfielder, scored one of the goals of the tournament to send Belgium through to the last 16 and Sweden back home.
The game was pretty open from the start, with both teams knowing the importance of the first goal and going for it. Unfortunately, though, unlike the earlier Portugal vs Hungary game, the goals did not come with it.
Kevin De Bruyne was at the centre of everything that Belgium did right going forward again, with the Manchester City man, whipping in one cross after another only to see the end product missing. Romelu Lukaku is a wonderful striker when he is in the mood, much like he was against the Republic of Ireland in the last match, but there is a lot to improve still in the Everton man.
Quite a few times in this match, particularly in the first half, Lukaku was caught on his heels, not anticipating the crosses that were coming in from De Bruyne. Had he moved forward in time to one of those crosses, he would have had a tap in and Belgium would be leading the game going into halftime.
At the other end, all eyes were on Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and while there were a couple of classy moments from the Sweden legend, the team's best chance came to his strike partner Marcus Berg, early in the first half. Off a freekick, the ball fell kindly to Berg, whose shot, on the bounce, from 12 yards was hit straight at Thibaut Courtois, with the Belgium goalkeeper showing the necessary reflexes to make the save. That, incidentally, was Sweden's first shot on target in Euro 2016, emphasising their struggles in front of goal.
Sweden started on the front foot in the second 45, with Belgium defending a little too deep for Marc Wilmots' comfort. There were a couple of "if only the final ball or first touch was right, then it would have been a goal" moments, but, again, the goal just would not come.
Belgium grew into the second half, after that early stutter, with Eden Hazard seeing plenty of the ball, along with De Bruyne. The latter would force a really good save from Andres Isaksson, before the Sweden goalkeeper, who, like Ibrahimovic, will retire after Euro 2016, made a splendid save to deny Romelu Lukaku. Moments later, Lukaku, off a breakaway, would lift the ball into the net, but the goal was correctly ruled out for offside.
The game was end-to-end now, with Ibrahimovic forcing a save off Courtois off a freekick, while Lukaku shot high, with both teams keen to find the winner. Dries Mertens, on for Yannick Carrasco, nearly did that too, slithering his way through the Sweden defence, before seeing his shot saved, again, by Isaksson.
The goal would finally come, though, as Belgium finally struck, and what a way to do it too, with a ridiculous strike from outside the box that left even the outstanding Isaksson with absolutely no chance.
With that goal Ibrahimovic's international career ended and so did Sweden's run in Euro 2016.
Get the full highlights of the match HERE
