| Outright Odds: 50/1 | | | | Veteran striker Henrik Larsson, a member of the |
| Group B Winners: 9/4 | | | | Sweden squad who finished third in the 1994 finals, |
| Sweden battled their way through an awkward | | | | also adds an extra option in attack as he seeks one |
| qualifying group which included Croatia, Bulgaria, | | | | final hurrah before retiring from the game. |
| Hungary and Iceland and qualified as one of the two | | | | Despite thrashing their opponents in qualifying, rattling in |
| best placed runners-up. The Swedes lost narrowly 1-0 | | | | 27 goals, 13 of which came against poor Malta, the |
| to Croatia both home and away but eight wins out of | | | | defeats against Croatia raise question marks over |
| eight against the rest of their opponents saw them | | | | whether they can repeat their glorious appearances of |
| level on points. | | | | the past. |
| The Swedes boast excellent organisation at the back | | | | This is Sweden's eleventh appearance at the World |
| and their defence shipped just four goals in 10 | | | | Cup finals. They hosted the tournament in 1958 and |
| qualifying matches. Goalkeeper Andreas Isaksson was | | | | scored after four minutes against Brazil in the final. |
| a revelation in qualifying, arguably making one mistake | | | | However, a 17-year-old Pele scuppered their plans and |
| against Iceland in a match Sweden won comfortably. | | | | the Brazilians ran out 5-2 winners. They have also |
| The Rennes stopper is a worthy replacement for the | | | | reached the semi-finals in 1950 and 1994 so there is a |
| veteran Thomas Ravelli who won over 100 caps for | | | | lot to live up to. |
| his country. | | | | The fans will expect them to improve on a frustrating |
| Sweden also have good attacking options to | | | | appearance in the 2002 finals when they topped the |
| compliment a resolute back line. The current darling of | | | | first round group ahead of both England and Argentina |
| Swedish football, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, blasted in eight | | | | but lost in the second round after extra-time against |
| goals in 10 qualifying games while his creativity allowed | | | | surprise package Senegal. |
| the marauding Fredrik Ljungberg to score seven goals | | | | Recommended Bet: |
| from midfield. | | | | It will be a tight battle between Sweden and England |
| Ibrahimovic came of age at Euro 2004 with a stunning | | | | to win Group B, with both sides likely to decide who |
| back-flick goal against Italy which lead to Juventus | | | | tops the group when they meet in the final game. Past |
| buying him for approximately £11 million the | | | | meetings have been close and they drew 1-1 when |
| following August. He proved his mettle for scoring | | | | they played in Group F's opening fixture four years |
| when it matters the most with an injury-time winner | | | | ago. A repeat performance is the recommended bet. |
| away at Hungary in a cruch-qualifier. | | | | |