Sweden
Sweden it’s
a team that truly sails to the will of their leader, the legendary Zlatan
Ibrahimovic. Their presence in the final stages of big competitions has not
been constant, and last time they went through to the Knockout stages was in
2004 and Zlatan will definitely try to change that.
How they qualified
It was a very troubled way to France, the one
Sweden had to face. In a group completely dominated by Austria, the Swedes only
won half of their games, a number that still allowed them to go to the playoff.
There they faced Denmark where Zlatan showed to save the day, scoring 3 of the
4 goals with which Sweden secured qualification
Squad
Goalkeepers:
Andreas Isaksson (Kasimpasa), Robin Olsen (Copenhagen), Patrik Carlgren (AIK).
Defenders:
Ludwig Augustinsson (Copenhagen), Erik Johansson (Copenhagen), Pontus Jansson
(Torino), Victor Lindelof (Benfica) Andreas Granqvist (Krasnodar), Mikael
Lustig (Celtic), Martin Olsson (Norwich).
Midfielders:
Jimmy Durmaz (Olympiakos), Albin Ekdal (Hamburg), Oscar Hiljemark (Palermo),
Sebastian Larsson (Sunderland), Pontus Wernbloom (CSKA Moscow), Erkan Zengin (Trabzonspor),
Oscar Lewicki (Malmo), Emil Forsberg (Leipzig), Kim Kallstrom (Grasshoppers).
Forwards:
Marcus Berg (Panathinaikos), John Guidetti (Celta Vigo), Zlatan Ibrahimovic
(Paris St-Germain), Emir Kujovic (Norrkoping).
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Club : PSG (FRA)
Age : 34 years
The only attribute has big as Zlatan’s
quality, is clearly his ego. A fascinating player, tall but quick and agile,
creative and strong can hold any challenge and has the ability to solve any
game.
His attitude is usually is downfall and it
feels like he can’t handle the bigger moments, but in France, Zlatan will have
another chance to prove us wrong.
Victor
Lindelöf
Club : Benfica (POR)
Age : 21 years
Poached from portuguese Giants Benfica in
Sweden, Victor Lindelof was integrated in the B team and progressively learned
and fought his way to the starting XI of the 3-time portuguese champions, place
he got in January this year.
Was part of the Swedish team that won the U-21
Euro in 2015 and after a great 2nd half season showed that he’s
ready to play in the best leagues against the best players.
Erik Hamren
In charge
of the national team since 2009, Erik Hamren has been getting the expected
results, but without any growth and progression of quality.
Will try to rewrite recent history and be able
to qualify in a very tough group.
What to expect from them?
A great question mark, is what you think about
the Swedes. With Zlatan spearheading their offense, they know that in a good
day it’s possible to beat any team, but the rest of the team is clearly two or
three steps behind the big man.
Erik Hamren will keep faithful to his 4-4-2,
where the two holding midfielders have to give a step forward and give a
helping hand in the attack, instead of staying back as usually happens.
Their lack of defensive concentration has to
end before the tournament starts, and if they do that, they might have a
chance.
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| FIL's Starting XI prediction |
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