Nigel Worthington, will feel considerably better about himself today. Though our hopes of qualifying for Euro 2008 remain dauntingly slender, Worthington's chances of keeping his job were enhanced by this resilient draw which delays Sweden's still bright hopes of booking of a ticket to Austria and Switzerland next summer.

Moreover, Northern Ireland debunked suggestions that they are a one-man team on a night in Stockholm when Kyle Lafferty upstaged David Healy with a classy late equaliser.

"We displayed a lot of courage and, as the game wore on, I thought we might sneak it," enthused Worthington. "Sweden are top of the group and have quality players but tonight showed my players that they can play."

The likely outcome looked very different when Lars Lagerback's side took the lead seconds after Erik Edman rather controversially won a free-kick. Tobias Linderoth curled the ball in from the left and Johan Elmander flicked it on, leaving Aston Villa's Olof Mellberg to lash a far-post volley beyond Maik Taylor.

We rallied, though, as Steven Davis began passing incisively. Relatively little was seen of Healy but Burnley's Lafferty equalised. Having beaten Peter Hansson in the air before controlling a dropping ball, the striker deployed considerable skill to dodge Mellberg before directing a perfectly weighted, rising shot into the top corner as Sweden perhaps paid the price for Lagerback's conversative game plan.

Northern Ireland: Taylor, McAuley, Hughes, McCartney, Craigan, Davis, Clingan, Brunt, Healy, Sproule, Lafferty.
Substitutes: Mannus, McCann, Webb, Jones, Capaldi, Robinson, Hamilton.

Sweden: Isaksson, Concha, Mellberg, Hansson, Edman, Linderoth, Svensson, Wilhelmsson, Kallstrom, Ibrahimovic, Elmander.
Substitutes: Shaaban, Nilsson, Majstorovic, Johansson, Allback, Rosenberg, Ljungberg.