Euro 2012 Group D: Sweden
GROUP D
[Team Jersey Images © Soccerphile]
Sweden
Road to Poland & Ukraine
Sweden finished second behind the Netherlands in Group E with a 100% record at home and two defeats on the road, in Holland and Hungary.
18 points from 8 games ensured they qualified without the need for a playoff, as the best-performing second-placed side.
Fixtures
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Sweden Kit 1
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Sweden Kit 2
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Sweden v Ukraine 11 June; Kiev
Sweden v England 15 June; Kiev
Sweden v France; 19 June; Kiev
Analysis
Sweden have always been a solid and persevering team whose level heads and work ethic are their fortés. Their shape is 4-5-1, or more specifically 4-2-3-1, with Milan's Zlatan Ibrahimovic the apex of the formation. Frustratingly hard to break down, many of their goals come from counter-attacks and set pieces.
Ibrahimovic remains their ace but they also have attacking alternatives in PSV's classy deep-lying support striker Ola Toivonen, veteran marksman Johann Elmander, now with Galatasaray, and Marcus Berg, the 2009 UEFA U-21 player of the tournament. Fourteen different players found the net in qualifying.
In midfield, the skilful yet combative Rasmus Elm has stepped up from the U-21 side, complementing creative practicioner Kim Kallstrom, whose free-kick sent Holland to their only defeat in qualifying and carried Sweden to the finals. Sunderland's Sebastian Larsson, whom Arsene Wenger named the best dead-ball specialist in the Premier League, turns 27 and should be at the height of his powers. Box-to-box workhorse Pontus Wernbloom is another component.
Three veterans in their mid-thirties still play major roles - Anders Svensson in the centre and Daniel Majstorovic and Olof Mellberg in defence. And another thirty-something, Christian Wilhelmsson, should work the left flank in Ukraine.
An ageing nucleus perhaps, although manager Erik Hamren chose a youth-heavy squad for two January friendlies, while two players aged 23 could make an impact - Twente winger Emir Bajrami and Blackburn defender Martin Olsson, who has scored four goals in seven appearances.
Key player: Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Ajax, Barcelona, Inter, Juventus and now Milan; few players in history have plied their trade at so many top teams and no footballer has cost more in cumulative transfer fees. Zlatan remains a world-class striker and Sweden pin most of their hopes for goals on his 30-year-old shoulders.
His pace, technique, height and eye for goal are helping Milan top Serie A and advance in the Champions League. Zlatan bagged a hat-trick for Sweden against Finland in qualifying, and his infamous ego has probably been kept under control since being handed the captain's armband.
One to watch: Martin Olsson
An explosive start to his national team career since scoring a brace on his debut, especially as he often plays at left-back. Olsson worked his way through Blackburn's youth system and now has 77 Premier League appearances under his belt. His left foot, powerful running, crossing and shooting and his ability to play in defence or midfield mean the 23 year-old is Sweden's hottest new property. Not to be confused with his twin brother Marcus, also at Blackburn and a Swedish international.
Coach: Erik Hamren
The 54-year-old is well-schooled in the Scandinavian game having won two Swedish cups, and league titles in Denmark and Norway before assuming the national team job in 2009.
Hamren has shown an open mind in evolving his preferred 4-4-2, the classic zonal Swedish style, to the more flexible 4-2-3-1, and tempering his natural attacking instincts with a more sensible counter-attacking game against difficult opponents.
His success in taking Sweden to Euro 2012 after the country's calamitous failure to reach the 2010 World Cup when they lost to Denmark and Hungary and drew with Albania, has rejuvenated the dressing room and Sweden will travel to Ukraine full of confidence.
On the training field, he eschews the Sven-Goran Eriksson professor approach and exudes a strong personality, which Ola Toivonen compared to that of an English manager. In Norway he was known as 'Mr Attitude', but has a lighter side too: He claimed Winnie the Pooh was his inspiration for his ability to find solutions to unpromising scenarios.
Record
Record 1964-1988 Did not qualify, 1992 Semi-final, 1996 Did not qualify, 2000 Group stage, 2004 Quarter-final, 2008 Group Stage
FIFA Ranking
How they qualified for Euro 2012
Sweden were second in Group E; qualified as the best-performing second-placed side.
On the sidelines
Sweden have faced England 22 times and won six times, lost seven and drawn nine.
Soccerphile says
On paper the Swedes should struggle to make it out of their group but are the least likely in their group to mentally crack. Yet with Spain or Italy waiting in the last eight, a semi-final appearance looks too tall an order.
Group D looks evenly-balanced and the Swedes will not feel the pressure that is weighing upon the shoulders of World Cup flops England and France and hosts Ukraine.
With the disappointment of missing out on South Africa egging them on, expect them to take points off the big fish. No-one ever tips Sweden for glory, which works to their advantage. A balanced and hard-working group could even slip into the last four with a slice of good fortune.
The Squad
Goalkeepers:
Andreas Isaksson (PSV Eindhoven), Johan Wiland, (FC Copenhagen, Pär Hansson (Helsingborg)
Defenders:
Mikael Lustig (Celtic), Olof Mellberg (Olympiakos), Andreas Granqvist (Genoa), Martin Olsson, (Blackburn), Jonas Olsson (West Bromwich), Behrang Safari (Anderlecht), Mikael Antonsson (Bologna)
Midfielders:
Rasmus Elm (AZ Alkmaar), Sebastian Larsson (Sunderland), Kim Kallstrom (Lyon), Anders Svensson (Elfsborg), Pontus Wernbloom (CSKA Moscow), Samuel Holmen (Istanbul BB), Emir Bajrami (Twente), Christian Wilhelmsson (al-Hilal)
Forwards:
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (AC Milan), Johan Elmander (Galatasaray), Tobias Hysen (IFK Gothenburg), Ola Toivonen (PSV Eindhoven), Marcus Rosenberg (Werder Bremen)