By Tom McKeown, Goal.com
England captain Steven Gerrard described Zlatan Ibrahimovic's stunning fourth goal in Stockholm on Wednesday night as "the best I've ever seen."
The Paris Saint-Germain striker bagged four goals for Sweden as the host ran out the 4-2 winner over Roy Hodgson's side.
The stunning quadruple moves Ibrahimovic ahead of Henrik Larsson on the all-time Swedish goalscorer list with 40 international goals, and Gerrard was full of praise for the 31-year-old's performance.
"Sometimes you have to hold your hands up to a special individual performance," Gerrard told reporters. "And that was a world-class performance from a world-class player.
"It was the best goal I have ever seen. The best before that was Wayne Rooney's [for Manchester United against Manchester City].
"Everyone knows how special that one was, but this one tonight, an overhead kick from 25 yards when the ball is six feet in the air... well, only certain players can do that, and he is a special player.
"It was one of the best individual performances I have ever seen, and his night. But, from our point of view, there were a lot of young lads making their debuts and they did well. We collapsed a little bit near the end but there were plenty of positives."
The England captain's milestone 100th cap was somewhat overshadowed by the Sweden No. 10, and Gerrard believes the amount of substitutions in the second half may have contributed to conceding England's 2-1 lead.
"Substitutions – when you make more than three – always spoil the game," Gerrard told ITV. "But I suppose [Hodgson] is under a lot of pressure from the [Premier League] managers and he's respecting them because a lot of players are playing in Europe.
"It does upset the rhythm. I thought we were very comfortable in the game up until we started making loads of changes but it has to be done in these friendlies."
Gerrard also received a good ovation from the Swedish fans before the game as a mark of respect for his 100th appearance for his country, and while he admits it was a nice touch, he says he is glad he can now focus on getting the country to the 2014 World Cup.
"That was really touching but I have mixed emotions," he added. "Obviously I am very proud for myself. All eyes were on me and there was extra pressure and excitement.
"Now I am glad it is out of the way and I can focus on getting us to the next World Cup. That is the big challenge."
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