Belgium knocks out Sweden in Ibrahimovic's last game

NICE, France (AP) - Zlatan Ibrahimovic has played his last game for Sweden, a 1-0 loss to Belgium on Wednesday at the European Championship.

The Swedes were eliminated from the competition while Belgium advanced to the round of 16, where they will play Hungary on Sunday in Toulouse.

"I hoped we could have a better finish (for Ibrahimovic)," Sweden coach Erik Hamren said.

Radja Nainggolan scored the winning goal for the Belgians, who finished second in Group E behind Italy. The Italians won the group despite losing to Ireland 1-0. The Irish also advanced as one of the best third-place teams.

With Ireland winning, Belgian would have been eliminated by losing to Sweden.

"It was a very difficult game for people who have heart problems," Belgium coach Marc Wilmots said. "Tactically, we were better on the counter. They have two very big but slow center backs so I think our counterattack was very good."

Nainggalon scored the lone goal with a powerful shot in the 84th minute from outside the penalty area, beating Sweden goalkeeper Andreas Isaksson.

In his 116th and last game for Sweden, Ibrahimovic forced a save from Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois in the 76th minute with a free kick and saw other shots go wide, including a volley in the 86th.

Ibrahimovic, one of the biggest stars at Euro 2016, did put the ball in the net shortly after the hour, but the whistle had already blown for a foul by Marcus Berg.

The tall Swede said Tuesday that he was retiring from international soccer after the tournament.

"He's special. He's unique. But I hope we can find some other player who's not Zlatan but a really, really good player for Sweden," Hamren said. "I don't think that in a small country like Sweden you find another player like him because he's really, really unique."

Needing a win to advance, Sweden also came close with an early shot from Berg, but failed to create enough quality opportunities. Shortly before the winning goal, a header from Andreas Granqvist was cleared off the line by Kevin de Bruyne.

Belgium started the tournament with a loss to Italy, then beat Ireland.

"We've kept a clean sheet two times in a row and it makes a difference. You know the problems we had," Wilmots said. "Some people thought we were dead after the first game, but we're here. We're back on track."