A great draw for Sweden is a terrible one for Germany

       

Sweden's Zlatan Ibrahimovic celebrates after drawing with Germany in their World Cup 2014 Group C qualifying match in Berlin on Tuesday. Sweden came back from four goals down to draw 4-4. Thomas Peter / Reuters

Coach says captain Ibrahimovic led by example in dramatic four-goal comeback.

Sweden coach Erik Hamren hailed his captain, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, for leading the fight back as the team's four unanswered goals sealed a dramatic 4-4 draw with Germany in Tuesday's World Cup qualifier.

Midfielder Rasmus Elm wrote himself into Swedish soccer folklore with the dramatic right-footed equalizer in the 93rd minute as Sweden came back from 4-0 down with an hour gone to claim a point at Berlin's Olympic Stadium.

"(Ibrahimovic) is our captain and our best player, his goal was fantastic, but so was the pass he received," Hamren said after Paris St. Germain's Ibrahimovic scored the 62nd-minute header to spark the dramatic comeback.

"We needed it to get some energy and he showed the way for the rest of the team.

"When we got some momentum, the players lifted around him and gave him some more support.

"He put in a really good talk in the halftime break and he showed his class to me, he coached the other players as a good captain should do."

Hamren said he learned a lot about his team when asked if he had wanted to leave the stadium and go home when the fourth German goal went in.

"No, at 4-0 down, I wanted to see what would happen and I am glad I didn't leave," he said.

"I wanted to see the strength and pride in the team, which we had talked about during in the break.

"I wanted to see which players would fight and which players would let their heads go down.

"If you are a loser, you want to go home, if you are a winner, you fight even when you are a long way behind."

Joachim Loew's Germany had been cruising thanks to two early goals from Lazio's Miroslav Klose before Arsenal's Per Mertesacker, then Real Madrid's Mesut Ozil gave the host a comfortable lead.

But Hamren's side roared back as Ibrahimovic headed home before Celtic's Mikael Lustig, then Galatasary's Johan Elmander rattled the host before Elm produced the shock equalizer.

"At first the Germans did what they wanted, even after we pulled it back to 4-1, I didn't think we could get something out of the game," said Sweden's hero Elm.

"When I got my goal, I was so tired that I just hit the ball with all I had."

Germany remains top of Group C on 10 points, with Sweden second on seven, but with a game in hand.

This is the first time in the German Football Federation's 104-year history it has surrendered a four-goal lead and this was the first time in three years Germany has dropped points in a qualification match.

"To sum things up, the first 60 minutes were brilliant from us, the last 30 were incredibly weak," Loew said.

"Honestly, shortly after the game I can find no explanation as to how we let a 4-0 lead slip out of our hands.

"It's deathly quiet in the changing room; players are laid out on the benches and are totally speechless.

"Had we won the game, we would have been in control of the group - now things are wide open.

"Having outplayed Sweden for 60 minutes, who were virtually invisible, we are very disappointed and we have to learn our lessons from this."

Germany captain Philipp Lahm admitted he was also struggling to explain what went wrong.

"It is very difficult to explain, it is hard to understand how we could be left with a 4-all draw having outplayed our opponents for the first 60 minutes," Lahm said.

"At 4-1, you think, well it's only a goal, at 4-2 you get a little worried, but before you know it, it's a 4-4 draw.

"It is unprecedented in international football, maybe only the 3-3 draw between Liverpool and AC Milan in the 2005 Champions League final compares.

"We ticked the game off after it was 4-0, that is normal, but we let our concentration slip, made mistakes and lost our shape."