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World Cup Team Check: Sweden

March 16, 2006

A country with a rich soccer tradition, Sweden has one of the best teams the country has produced for many a year. Confidence and expectation are high as the Swedes look to progress further than the last 16.

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Zlatan Ibrahimovic (r.) is the dangerman at the head of Sweden's attackImage: AP

World Cup qualifiers

Sweden qualified itself for the World Cup in Germany as the best European runner-up, winning eight of 10 games. But it was still only enough for second place in Group 8. It was precisely these two losses against Croatia, which cost Sweden the group win. Croatia ended up leading the group, as it had the better goal difference.

Stars

Midfielder Frederick Ljungberg from Arsenal London, striker Henrik Larsson from FC Barcelona and Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Juventus Turin) are the outstanding performers in the Scandinavian team. Former Bundesliga player Marcus Allbäck is also in the World Cup contingent. The forward used to kick for Hansa Rostock and now plays for FC Kopenhagen.

Trainer

The dual trainer team Lars Lagerbäck/Tommy Soderbergh became a one-man show after the European Championships in Portugal last year. Sweden lost against the Netherlands in penalty shots in the second round of Euro 2004. And Soderbergh vacated his chair. Since then, Lagerbäck has been solely responsible for coaching the Swedes. The trainer's signature can be particularly seen in the team's closeness, which distinguishes the "Tre Kronors" or Three Crowns team.

World Cup history

Sweden is participating in the World Cup for the eleventh time.

1934: Quarter-finals, 1938: Fourth place, 1950: Third place, 1958: Runner-up, 1970: Preliminary round, 1974: Second round, 1978: Preliminary round, 1990: Preliminary round, 1994: Third place, 2002: Round of 16

Match schedule: preliminary round

June 10, 2006: Trinidad and Tobago -- Sweden in Dortmund

June 15, 2006: Sweden -- Paraguay in Berlin

June 20, 2006: Sweden -- England in Cologne

World Cup base

The Swedes are staying in the northern part of the country during the World Cup. The team is setting up its base in Bremen.

Outlook

Sweden is going into its eleventh World Cup with quite a bit of optimism. Lagerbäck's team, which only reached the round of 16 in the last World Cup, has higher goals this time. The hopes are based mainly on the team's potency in terms of goals. In the 10 qualifiers, the Swedes scored an impressive 30 goals.