Post by Zig on Oct 7, 2005 14:58:43 GMT -5
SWEDEN SWEEP INTO TOP 10
Sweden have returned to the top ten of the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking following two high-ranking victories over Hristo Stoitchkov's Bulgaria and Lothar Matthaeus' Hungary. September's 3-0 and 0-1 wins, respectively, in FIFA World Cup qualifying matches have lifted Lars Lagerback's team five places to 10th, their best position in nine years.
Tenth in the world, sixth in Europe and top of Scandinavia, they have also accumulated 21 points from eight matches in Group Eight and are on the verge of making their 11th World Cup finals.
"Of course I am very satisfied - to win seven games and lose one is rather good isn't it," Lagerback told FIFAworldcup.com.
It certainly is - though Sweden needed a 92nd-minute piece of majesty from dashing striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic to undo Hungary in Budapest, while their three strikes in Stockholm followed the sending off of Bulgaria's Blagoy Georgiev. On Saturday, the Scandinavians face a crunch clash against Croatia, the team whose 0-1 win in Gothenburg spoilt their perfect record, before finishing their campaign at home versus Iceland.
"They (Croatia) were a little bit lucky to win in Sweden. They did a very good job tactically and closed the game out," he said. "The Bulgaria match was a very solid game from us, but Hungary was much more about fighting. A draw would perhaps have been the fairest result but we won it with a very, very good goal."
That stoppage-time run and shot into the top-left corner was Ibrahimovic's seventh goal of the qualifiers. Despite a tempestuous relationship with the Swedish media and a much cooler connection with Arsenal midfielder Fredrik Ljungberg, the 24-year-old striker has matured nicely in the past year and confidently spearheads Sweden's three-pronged attack in front of Ljungberg and Barcelona veteran Henrik Larsson.
Topscoring with 16 goals in his first season for Juventus on the way to winning the Scudetto, the 1.92m player has few inhibitions left and is predicting great things for the national team.
"We're getting better and better every day," Ibrahimovic said after his first season in Italy. "If everyone has the right attitude we can win the World Cup."
That statement provoked some surprise but Sweden's recent record stands up pretty well to scrutiny. They reached the knockout stage of Korea/Japan 2002 only to be felled, somewhat unluckily, in extra-time by Senegal and were beaten on penalties by Holland in the quarter-finals of the UEFA European Championship Portugal 2004. Their highest position in the World Ranking was second, struck in November 1994 on the back of their 3rd-place finish at USA 2004.
And as Ibrahimovic is aware, Sweden currently have a side at its peak. With an attacking trio the equal of any in the world, they have a strong backbone to their side from Stade Rennes' goalkeeper Andreas Isaksson, Aston Villa centre-half Olof Mellstrom to Isaksson's club colleague midfielder Kim Kallstrom. And in Anders Svensson of Elfsborg and Christian Wilhelmsson of Anderlecht, the Scandinavians possess players that have already serviced 27 goals in the qualifying campaign.
Dreams of Germany, however, need to be repressed for the time being. Lagerback along with co-coach Roland Andersson, who replaced Tommy Soderbergh last year, have first to deal with Croatia, who, menacingly, are just one point behind them in the table. Despite camping in nearby Vienna for the Zagreb match, the nightmare news that their attacking trident Ibrahimovic, Larsson and Ljungberg might all be out injured will not have allowed them to sleep more soundly.
Whether Sweden can progress to Germany 2006 and hold onto their top ten position will all be decided in the next few days.
Sweden have returned to the top ten of the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking following two high-ranking victories over Hristo Stoitchkov's Bulgaria and Lothar Matthaeus' Hungary. September's 3-0 and 0-1 wins, respectively, in FIFA World Cup qualifying matches have lifted Lars Lagerback's team five places to 10th, their best position in nine years.
Tenth in the world, sixth in Europe and top of Scandinavia, they have also accumulated 21 points from eight matches in Group Eight and are on the verge of making their 11th World Cup finals.
"Of course I am very satisfied - to win seven games and lose one is rather good isn't it," Lagerback told FIFAworldcup.com.
It certainly is - though Sweden needed a 92nd-minute piece of majesty from dashing striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic to undo Hungary in Budapest, while their three strikes in Stockholm followed the sending off of Bulgaria's Blagoy Georgiev. On Saturday, the Scandinavians face a crunch clash against Croatia, the team whose 0-1 win in Gothenburg spoilt their perfect record, before finishing their campaign at home versus Iceland.
"They (Croatia) were a little bit lucky to win in Sweden. They did a very good job tactically and closed the game out," he said. "The Bulgaria match was a very solid game from us, but Hungary was much more about fighting. A draw would perhaps have been the fairest result but we won it with a very, very good goal."
That stoppage-time run and shot into the top-left corner was Ibrahimovic's seventh goal of the qualifiers. Despite a tempestuous relationship with the Swedish media and a much cooler connection with Arsenal midfielder Fredrik Ljungberg, the 24-year-old striker has matured nicely in the past year and confidently spearheads Sweden's three-pronged attack in front of Ljungberg and Barcelona veteran Henrik Larsson.
Topscoring with 16 goals in his first season for Juventus on the way to winning the Scudetto, the 1.92m player has few inhibitions left and is predicting great things for the national team.
"We're getting better and better every day," Ibrahimovic said after his first season in Italy. "If everyone has the right attitude we can win the World Cup."
That statement provoked some surprise but Sweden's recent record stands up pretty well to scrutiny. They reached the knockout stage of Korea/Japan 2002 only to be felled, somewhat unluckily, in extra-time by Senegal and were beaten on penalties by Holland in the quarter-finals of the UEFA European Championship Portugal 2004. Their highest position in the World Ranking was second, struck in November 1994 on the back of their 3rd-place finish at USA 2004.
And as Ibrahimovic is aware, Sweden currently have a side at its peak. With an attacking trio the equal of any in the world, they have a strong backbone to their side from Stade Rennes' goalkeeper Andreas Isaksson, Aston Villa centre-half Olof Mellstrom to Isaksson's club colleague midfielder Kim Kallstrom. And in Anders Svensson of Elfsborg and Christian Wilhelmsson of Anderlecht, the Scandinavians possess players that have already serviced 27 goals in the qualifying campaign.
Dreams of Germany, however, need to be repressed for the time being. Lagerback along with co-coach Roland Andersson, who replaced Tommy Soderbergh last year, have first to deal with Croatia, who, menacingly, are just one point behind them in the table. Despite camping in nearby Vienna for the Zagreb match, the nightmare news that their attacking trident Ibrahimovic, Larsson and Ljungberg might all be out injured will not have allowed them to sleep more soundly.
Whether Sweden can progress to Germany 2006 and hold onto their top ten position will all be decided in the next few days.
;D
. . . . Mellstrom is good ;D
haha