Sweden vs. England Preview

England’s solid if unspectacular opening draw against the French removed a certain degree of pressure from their crunch Group D encounter with Sweden; however the Three Lions will still be desperate for victory in Donetsk on Friday June 15 in order to boost their chances of reaching the Euro 2012 knockout stages.

Success over the Swedes would put England in prime position to qualify ahead of their final group clash with Ukraine which will be a difficult assignment in the co-hosts back yard.

Roy Hodgson’s charges finally broke a 35 year hoodoo against the Scandinavians at Wembley in 2011, scrapping their way to a 1-0 friendly win which did little to inspire by way of performance.

That particular result was recorded under former boss Fabio Capello and Hodgson will be hopeful that he can inflict a first competitive defeat upon Sweden since 1966 when England won the World Cup.

The current Swedish side still carries a high degree of familiarity to England, with many of their veteran players having lined up against them at previous tournaments.

The likes of Anders Svensson and Christian Wilhelmsson have figured prominently in the national team for more than a decade and Sweden will be relying on their experience and nouse to compensate for the obvious shortfall in pace and star quality within the squad.

Indeed, Sweden’s lack of firepower became evident in match day one against Ukraine who fought back from a goal down to triumph at the Olympic Stadium in Kiev.

AC Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic was the man on the score sheet for Sweden and the 30-year-old remains their strongest threat.

England will certainly want to keep him quiet and avoid allowing the Swedes too much licence to supply the killer ball.

As expected, England are favourites to come out on top, nevertheless their dire overall record against the Swedes has ruled out any chance of them being odds on shots.

Hodgson will be looking to inject a greater amount of energy into his starting line-up, as his side did begin to flat line against France albeit in testing conditions.

England’s deep style of defending naturally invited the French to operate high up the field but many will be hoping that they can be a little more positive against weaker, less creative opposition.

The 6/5 about England’s chances is probably a fair reflection of where the team is right now – and the bookmakers have again taken into account the extent to which the Three Lions are depleted up front without the suspended Wayne Rooney.

For this particular fixture, England will be devoid of what the Swedes possess – a natural, prolific target man in the shape of Ibrahimovic.

But their quality and organisation overall should see them through and it is Sweden who must really outperform their usual standard to claim anything more than a point from the game.

They are 3/1 to do just that, a price of little appeal in the circumstances and the draw may well be the direction that any England layers head towards.

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13/06/2012     © Frixo 2026