Reasons to be cheerful for Sweden

Coach Jörgen Lennartsson was in upbeat mood after a series of good performances from Sweden during a four-team tournament which ended on Saturday.

'Experience'
Sweden were undefeated after playing out goalless draws with Portugal and the Netherlands and a 1-1 stalemate with France, and Lennartsson believes there are plenty of positives that can be drawn from the event. "It's been a really good tournament," he said. "Playing against three such strong sides has given us a lot of experience which will be very important ahead of next year's tournament."

Hosts
Sweden will host the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championship and could meet France, the Netherlands and Portugal again on home soil next summer as the qualifying tournament reaches its climax with all three sides still in contention. Sweden qualify automatically as hosts, so Lennartsson was keen to learn as much as possible about his side in this series of friendlies which were played over the course of a week, similar to how the group stage will be scheduled next June.  

'Intensity'
Lennartsson's side produced one of their best recent performances in their opening game against Portugal on 25 May. The hosts might even have won the game but were unfortunate to see an effort from Malmö FF midfielder Guillermo Molins bounce back off the crossbar. Ultimately, though, they had the excellence of Sweden goalkeeper Johan Dahlin to thank for a point as Portugal hit back strongly after the break, despite being a man short following defender Sereno's 32nd-minute dismissal. "I'm very pleased with our performance," Lennartsson said. "Portugal are a very good side and we played with a lot more intensity than in February when we lost 3-0."

'Really strong'
Sweden's defence again impressed against the Dutch on 28 may in a game of few chances. Molins again came closest for Sweden, while Evander Sno had a goal ruled out for offside. The European champions put Sweden under a lot of pressure but again the hosts held firm. "The result was OK considering we were playing the European champions and defensively we are really strong," Lennartsson said. "The attack leaves something to be desired, but we'll work on that aspect."

France draw
Sweden did score in the final game of the tournament against France in Helsingborg on Saturday, Mikael Lustig putting his side ahead on 53 minutes only for Loïc Remy to equalise two minutes later. France had two players sent off towards the end and Marcus Berg headed narrowly over as Sweden pressed, but France held out for the draw that saw them win the tournament ahead of the Netherlands and Sweden with Portugal finishing fourth. In the tournament's other results, France and Portugal drew 1-1, the Netherlands defeated Portugal 2-0 and France beat the Dutch 2-1.