Spain 2 Sweden 1: A STOPPAGE-TIME winner is always dramatic, especially when neither side can agree on the justice of the result.

For Luis Aragones the sight of David Villa picking the Swedish defence's pocket in the second minute of extra-time in Innsbruck was an emotional moment.

"I'm not usually one for celebrating," the Spain coach said. "But the goal came so very, very late I couldn't help myself."

Even an old curmudgeon such as Aragones is entitled to the occasional lump in the throat. Spain did not just win a match, after all. By securing qualification after only two games they suggested their reputation as tournament bottlers might be out of date, even if much of what passed before Villa's goal indicated they might be capable of reverting to type.

That was what irked the rueful but resigned coach of Sweden, Lars Lagerback. "We played exceptionally well in the first half and were holding them comfortably in the second," he said. "It was a bitter way to lose a match, especially as we were denied a free-kick in the build-up to the goal.

"There has been a lot of talk about fair play in this tournament but I was standing about 20 metres away from where Markus Rosenberg was kicked and the referee gave us nothing. In the second half everything seemed to go against us."

Lagerback may have a point but what mostly went against Sweden in the second half was the toothlessness of their attack after Zlatan Ibrahimovic stayed in the dressingroom complaining of an old knee injury. He has a recurring condition familiar to high jumpers and, though he said he might be able to manage a few minutes more, Sweden thought it safest to take no chances and try to make sure he played in the next game.

That could be vital now, for Ibrahimovic appears to be the one player who might make a difference against Russia. His withdrawal here certainly tilted the arithmetic in Spain's favour. Their two strikers both scored - and both played until the end. Ibrahimovic's equaliser countered Fernando Torres' opener and set up a surprisingly even second half, though there was never any Swedish goal threat once their scorer was reduced to spectator.

Cesc Fabregas too was a spectator for an hour, Aragones explaining he is only just coming back to full fitness, and when he came on he was no better than Xavi had been at piloting a way through the Swedish defence.

That Sweden were never going to score became obvious 10 minutes from time when Petter Hansson got on the end of a free-kick and rolled the ball invitingly across a gaping goalmouth only for Henrik Larsson to arrive a full second later than he would have done in his prime. Even then there appeared no particular danger from Spain until Joan Capdevila caught out Hansson with a 70-yard defensive clearance for Villa to chase.

"Well I'm faster than Hansson, so once I reached the ball it was easy," Villa said of his fourth goal in two games. "And the goalkeeper came off his line a little early. I'm more pleased with this one goal than the hat-trick against Russia because it takes us through, but we are going to come up against some big teams in the next stage. We haven't won anything yet."

Guardian Service

SWEDEN: Isaksson, Stoor, Mellberg, Hansson, Nilsson, Elmander (Sebastian Larsson 79), Andersson, Svensson, Ljungberg, Henrik Larsson (Kallstrom 87), Ibrahimovic (Rosenberg 46). Subs not used: Shaaban, Wiland, Linderoth, Alexandersson, Majstorovic, Granqvist, Allback, Wilhelmsson, Dorsin. Booked: Svensson.

SPAIN: Casillas, Sergio Ramos, Marchena, Puyol (Albiol 24), Capdevila, Iniesta (Santi Cazorla 59), Senna, Xavi (Fabregas 58), Silva, Villa, Torres. Subs not used: Palop, Reina, Fernando Navarro, Alonso, Sergio Garcia, Guiza, Arbeloa, Juanito, De la Red. Booked: Marchena.

Referee: Pieter Vink(Holland).