Mellberg exudes confidence

By Marcus Christenson

The picture in the closely contested UEFA EURO 2004™ qualifying section, Group 4, should become clearer on Saturday with the latest round of matches.

All to play for
Four countries can still top the group, with only San Marino out of contention for next summer's finals in Portugal. Sweden and Hungary lead the way on eleven points, with the former edging ahead with the better head-to-head results. The Latvians are a point behind while the Poles are four adrift.

Six years without defeat
With the pointless and goalless Sammarinese visiting Gothenburg on Saturday, Tommy Söderberg and Lars Lagerbäck's Sweden are expected to consolidate first place and their position as favourites for the automatic qualifying spot. Dauntingly for San Marino, as well as the chasing pack, the Swedes are unbeaten in all qualifying matches for six years - their last defeat having come against Austria in a 1997 FIFA World Cup qualifier.

Söderberg stepping down
Söderberg announced recently that he would retire at the conclusion of EURO 2004™ - or earlier if the side fail to qualify. However, Sweden captain Olof Mellberg insisted the move had had no negative bearing on the preparations for San Marino and the trip to Poland four days later.

Positive effect
"It may even have had a positive effect," the central defender told uefa.com. "We know it will be his last tournament so we will be even more motivated to do well. You can't let external factors affect you when you are on the pitch. As a player you always have to be 100 per cent focused on the game and we all want to reach the finals and that is what we are going to concentrate on."

Leading from the front
Mellberg, who also captains his English club side Aston Villa FC, is keen to lead from the front and said that such responsibilities have not affected him. "It hasn't changed my style of play," he said. "In fact, I think it is the way I play that has made me captain. I just have to continue the way I always have done."

Mellberg confidence
The 26-year-old was firm in his belief that qualification for a third consecutive major tournament is now firmly in Sweden's hands. "I would say we are confident of going through," he said. "We have done everything possible to be in a good position. The main thing is that everything is in our own hands. It is never good having to rely on other teams and results."

Trio of injury doubts
Strikers Marcus Allbäck, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Mattias Jonson are in the Swedish squad despite injury fears, but Malmö FF's Niklas Skoog, the Allsvenskan's leading scorer, could deputise against San Marino - if not against Poland in Chorzów. "Niklas has been in exceptional form and showed against Greece [in a recent friendly] what he is capable of," said co-coach Lagerbäck.

Extreme pressure
Saturday's other Group 4 match, between Latvia and Poland in Riga, involves two countries under extreme pressure. Poland's Portuguese dream will be over if they lose and the Swedes win at the weekend. Meanwhile, Latvia came in for criticism after their most recent qualifier - a 3-1 defeat in Hungary which severely dented their hopes of reaching a major finals for the first time.

Strikers out
Both sides will be without a striker. Southampton FC forward Marians Pahars is again missing for Latvia while Poland are without a key striker of their own in Emmanuel Olisadebe, who has a knee problem.