World Cup Preview - Group B - Sweden

Sweden

Coach: Lars Lagerback.

Game Schedule:
June 10 – Sweden vs. Trinidad and Tobago (12 p.m. EST)
June 15 – Sweden vs. Paraguay (3 p.m.)
June 20 – Sweden vs. England (3 p.m.)

Prospects: Another World Cup and another group dominated by England and Sweden. The Swedes look very similar to the way they did four years ago, just a bit older. Henrik Larsson, now a sub at Barcelona, is the wrong side of thirty, adding some burden to Arsenal’s Freddie Ljungberg and Zlatan Ibrahimovic to get goals. Their recent 3-0 defeat to an Irish team that won’t be in Germany shows that opponents may be able to expose them by playing a high paced game and getting in amongst them. The first round shouldn’t trouble them too much but when they get to the latter stages, the lack of depth in the squad will hurt Lagerback’s side.

Key Player: Anders Svensson. I know he plays for Southhampton, but I still rate him highly. Good runs through the middle and a devastating free kick technique.

Youngster to watch: Twenty-three year old Kim Kallstrom qualifies as a youngster in this crowd.

Who Will Get the Goals: Juventus beanstalk Zlatan Ibrahimovic, top scorer with seven in the qualifiers.

Who Will Get the Cards: Aston Villa hardman Olaf Mellberg. Several cards in qualifiers.

Funniest Name: Nothing immediately jumps out; just a lot of sons of sons.

Prediction: As I indicated above, the key for both England and Sweden is to finish top. I hope that the England camp understands this, however, given the propensity for slow starts, I’ll be cautious and go with my instinct that Sweden may just pip England to the top spot through goal difference after the two sides draw in the last match. That will set up a Second Round match-up with Poland and a tasty Quarter-final with Holland. Holland should be strong enough to finish them off at that stage.

~Bob