Porto: Italy are in danger of crashing out of Euro 2004 at the first hurdle after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Sweden in a pulsating Euro 2004 Group C match on Friday (June 18, 2004).

A cheeky back-heeled goal from Zlatan Ibrahimovic five minutes from time salvaged a point for the Swedes after Antonio Cassano's first-half header had given Italy the lead.

Sweden tops the group on goal difference even though they and Denmark have four points from two matches, while Italy are third with two points.

Even a win in their final group game against the already-eliminated Bulgaria on Tuesday may not suffice for Italy to finish in the top two and reach the last eight.

The only team sure of qualifying is the winner of the match between Denmark and Sweden.

Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon said he was flummoxed by Ibrahimovic's strange goal.

"I could not believe the acrobatics of Ibrahimovic, I thought it would go over the bar," said Buffon.

"We were comfortable in the first half but we tied up in the second half. We can still qualify if we win the last match depending on the other match but the Bulgaria clash will be huge."

Gianluca Zambrotta said: "They were lucky in the end but they surprised us." Sweden striker Henrik Larsson paid tribute to Ibrahimovic.

"I thought the result was fair as we went forward more and more and Zlatan's goal was excellent."