Sweden draws a blank as Zlatan Ibrahimovic stays on the bench

Sweden 0 Slovenia 0: Sweden drew a blank last night in their penultimate pre-Euro friendly but Martin O’Neill shouldn’t get too excited as talisman Zlatan Ibrahimovic was kept in reserve.

Similar to Ireland’s captain and No 10 Robbie Keane, the Swedish phenomenon is nursing an ankle knock, yet is expected to feature against Wales in Sunday’s send-off game in Stockholm.

In the town of his birth, Zlatan was the main protagonist without kicking a ball. The game against Slovenia was brought south to Malmo to coincide with the great man’s final lap on the international circuit but the best the faithful got from the 34-year-old were a few words at half-time expressing his sorrow for being restricted to a watching brief.