Svensson betting against the odds again

Midfielder Anders Svensson will have a key role in Innsbruck on Saturday against a potent Spain side, but upsetting the odds is something he and Sweden have done before.

Contrast
Sweden's second UEFA EURO 2008™ group match should certainly be different from their opener against Greece. While the European champions rarely put Lars Lagerbäck's men under serious pressure in a 2-0 win for the Blågult, Spain put four goals past Russia in the Group D curtain-raiser. Svensson and company watched some of that game on television and the IF Elfsborg stalwart was impressed by what he saw. "Spain are one of the teams most comfortable on the ball in the world – we probably won't have much possession when we play them," said the 31-year-old. "But such matches can be won too."

Precedent
Svensson is not making empty promises. The 92-cap international was in the Sweden side at the 2002 FIFA World Cup when they played Argentina in the last match of the first phase – a group that also included England and Nigeria. In a fixture pre-tournament favourites Argentina had to win to go through, the technically superior South Americans controlled the ball for most of the game but it was Sweden who scored first through a now legendary Svensson free-kick. Argentina managed an equaliser but were eliminated while the draw made Sweden group winners.

Meticulous planning
Like Argentina six years ago, Spain have been heralded as contenders for the UEFA EURO 2008™ crown. Lagerbäck has called them "one of the world's best when they click" and Svensson agrees with the coach's assessment. "Absolutely. We've played them twice in qualifying so we know what they can do," he told euro2008.com. "We need to make it difficult for them, to impose ourselves physically and to try to frustrate them." Even Svensson, one of his country's most creative players, has taken on a more defensive role lately and against a high-tempo Spanish passing game, he knows the recipe they must cook up to obtain a result. "We need to work as a team and keep well positioned," he concluded. "It's going to be 90 minutes of hard work."