Ukraine have opened their Euro 2012 account with a 2-1 victory over Sweden in Kiev.
The first half was a very even fight and the fans had to wait until 17 minutes before the first attempt at goal.
Ibrahimovic withstood two challenges on the edge of the Ukraine area before cutting in from the left and curling a right-footed shot, which was parried away by Andriy Pyatov.
Andriy Shevchenko had the chance to break the deadlock five minutes later when a neat one-two with Andriy Yarmolenko saw him through on goal.
However, the former Chelsea striker dragged his shot across Andreas Isaksson's goal to the disappointment of the home crowd.
Ibrahimovic went close once again just before half time, when Sebastian Larsson swung a ball over the heads of the Ukraine defenders. The AC Milan star was on hand to head the ball past Pyatov, but his effort clipped the post and went out for a goal kick.
The teams went into the break goalless, but it was not long after the restart that Ibrahimovic opened the scoring.
Ukraine failed to clear Larsson's cross and Markus Rosenberg squared to the Swedish captain, he applied the finish.
However, that lead lasted only three minutes. Shevchenko lit up the stadium when he stole a march on Olof Mellberg to head past Isaksson after Yarmolenko had delivered a teasing cross from the right.
Things got even better for Ukraine in the 62nd minute and it was the legendary striker who doubled his and the home side's tally.
The 35-year-old met Yarmolenko's corner, which had been whipped into the near post. The header beat Isaksson and there was pandemonium in the Olympic Stadium.
Sweden pushed forward in search of an equaliser, and almost had it when Rasmus Elm knocked a long ball down into the path of Ibrahimovic, who struck fiercely at Pyatov.
The Ukraine goalkeeper stood firm to deny the striker and keep the scores level.
As the seconds ticked away, former Bolton Wanderers striker Johan Elmander squandered a golden opportunity to snatch a point from the game.
Some neat interplay with Ibrahimovic set him through on goal, but he blazed over from just inside the box in the last minute of normal time.
In the end, Ukraine held on to record what could be a valuable win in their quest to reach the knockout stages of the competition.
Michael Penkman
