Sweden rev up in Estoril

All smiles
Speaking ahead of tomorrow's match in Lisbon, joint coach Lars Lagerbäck said: "Everything has gone very well this far and we have pretty much achieved everything we set out to do ahead of the game. All the players have done very well in training and I believe that we will all be up for the task."

Bulgarian tactics
Lagerbäck and fellow coach Tommy Söderberg are well aware of the threat posed by Bulgaria, but believe Sweden will dominate possession. "Bulgaria will probably play on the counterattack, and look likely to play with [Dimitar] Berbatov up front and use five players in the midfield with one in the hole behind Berbatov," Lagerbäck said.

Mellberg task
The task of handling Bulgaria's lone striker will be given to Aston Villa FC's Olof Mellberg. The defender said of Berbatov: "He's a top-class striker so we have to be on our toes. Teddy Lucic has taught me a couple things about [his Bayer 04 Leverkusen team-mate] as well."

Injury worry
Mellberg, likely to be partnered by Andreas Jakobsson, is confident that his heel injury will not be an impediment. "I feel OK," he said. "It hurts but it won't get any worse and the doctors have assured me that nothing much can happen with it. It's just the way it is." Lagerbäck and Söderberg are likely to turn to Kim Källström ahead of 2002 FIFA World Cup hero Anders Svensson to provide strength in midfield. Mikael Nilsson, meanwhile, should get the nod ahead of Christian Wilhelmsson.

Ljungberg confident
Fredrik Ljungberg will also play a crucial role, and he has looked sharp in training. The Arsenal FC player said: "I want to get into the game as soon as possible; to get involved and not be cut off. I firmly believe that we are on to something good. Bulgaria are a good team - a strong team - but I believe we have got them pretty much covered."

'Small margins'
The coaches are set to combine the returning Henrik Larsson with the exciting Zlatan Ibrahimovic up front, and Lagerbäck, while saying that Italy are "clear favourites" in a group also containing Denmark, added: "There are small margins in a tournament like this, anything can happen. But we know what we can do and we are here to achieve that."