Sweden
Wednesday, 04 Jun 2008 00:00
Sweden's fans are usually among the most welcome at major tournaments
Almost lucky to be in Austria and Switzerland, having drawn with Northern Ireland and been thumped by Euro 2008 group rivals Spain, Sweden sealed qualification by beating Latvia in their final Group F clash.
Group D fixtures
Greece v
Sweden
Salzburg, June 10th 19:45 BST
Live on ITV1
Sweden v Spain
Innsbruck, June 14th 17:00 BST
Live on ITV1
Russia v
Sweden
Innsbruck, June 18th 19:45 BST
Live on ITV1
European Championship history
It's not the best, to be honest. They didn't qualify until 1992 and even then they were hosting. The exploits of Tomas Brolin and Martin Dahlin at the tournament were not built upon, however, as they failed to qualify for Euro 96 and were eliminated in the first round in Belgium and Holland eight years ago.
A quarter-final showing in Euro 2004 was their best yet.
The man in charge
Lars Lagerback has been in charge of the Swedish side since 1997, rising from an assistant position under Tommy Soderberg to take sole control after the last European Championships.
While he has been involved in five straight successful qualification campaigns, question marks remain over his decisiveness - especially when he reacted to going 2-0 down in the opening ten minutes against Germany in the last World Cup by… not really doing anything.
He had claimed that Euro 2008 would be his last tournament, but it was confirmed in January that Lagerback will be steering the Swedes for at least two more years. More indecisiveness there, as well.
Team forte
Some genuine stars. With Olof Mellberg having grown into a world-class defender in the last year, Zlatan Ibrahimovic still possessing one of the most precocious talents in world football and Henrik Larsson coming out of retirement for one final push, the Swedes have some real quality in their starting lineup.
Achilles heel
Mediocrity. While the likes of Mellberg, Ibrahimovic and Larsson are proven performers, too many of the Swedish squad are generally so-so in terms of quality.
Freddie Llungberg's rapid decline in form and the lack of playing time of goalkeeper Andreas Isaaksson are also causes for concern. Injuries to any key players could cost the Swedes dear due to a lack of depth in the squad.
Player to watch
Ibrahimovic, but that's a hell of a weight to be pinning on the shoulders of a player of staggering inconsistency.
His transfer fees and reputation smack of a striker of immense quality but his lack of form when it really matters could prove either the Swedes' undoing or, if he steps up in Austria and Switzerland, their key to progression.
Chances of victory
Fairly slim. While it's not exactly a group of death, Sweden still face defending champions Greece, England's conquerors Russia and the strongest Spain side in many a year.
But as English fans will know, Sweden are an irritatingly tough side to beat and there's no reason why their compact, efficient brand of football couldn't at least sneak them a quarter-final berth.
But with one of France, Italy, the Netherlands or (in the interests of fairness we should probably also mention) Romania lying in wait in the next stage, the last eight will surely be the end of the line for the Scandinavians.
Squad
Goalkeepers
1 Andreas Isaaksson
12 Rami Shaaban
13 Johan Wiland
Defenders
3 Olof Mellberg
4 Petter Hansson
5 Fredrik Stoor
14 Daniel Majstorovic
15 Andreas Granqvist
23 Mikael Dorsin
Midfielders
2 Mikael Nilsson
6 Tobias Linderoth
7 Niclas Alexandersson
8 Anders Svensson
9 Fredrik Llungberg
16 Kim Kallstrom
18 Sebastian Larsson
19 Daniel Andersson
21 Christian Wilhelmsson
Forwards
10 Zlatan Ibrahimovic
11 Johan Elmander
17 Henrik Larsson
20 Marcus Allback
22 Markus Rosenberg