Sweden steeled for Belarus opener

Hosts Sweden will end their long wait for competitive action when they kick off their UEFA European Under-21 Championship finals campaign against outsiders Belarus in Malmo.

• The team co-coached by Tommy Söderberg and Jörgen Lennartsson qualified automatically for the tournament and so have not played a competitive match since the crushing 5-0 home play-off defeat by Serbia in October 2006 that ended their hopes of qualifying for the previous final edition.

• They will hope to hit the ground running in Group A, a section that also includes Italy and Serbia, yet history suggests they should not underestimate a Belarus side who caused a major upset in their opening game on their previous finals appearance.

• That was in 2004 when Belarus beat eventual champions Italy 2-1 through an Aleksandr Hleb winning goal, albeit before subsequently missing out on a semi-final place. The eastern Europeans booked a return to the finals by bettering Turkey 2-1 on aggregate in a qualifying play-off.

• The Belarus coach Yuri Kurnenin is suspended for the Sweden match having been sent off in the second leg of that play-off victory in Borisov.

• Sweden, like Belarus, had their first experience of an eight-team final U21 tournament in 2004 and they did well, reaching the semi-finals. But their best performance to date was a runners-up spot in 1992.

• The Swedes' goal now is to emulate the Netherlands side who became the first hosts to lift the trophy when they were crowned European U21 champions in Groningen two years ago.

• Prior to then host teams had recorded mixed fortunes with Slovakia (2000) and Switzerland (2002) both reaching the last four, but Germany (2004) and Portugal (2006) falling at the group stage.

• Sweden and Belarus have met twice before in competitive fixtures at this level, each winning once in the qualifying round for the 1998 UEFA European U21 Championship:

1998 Qualifying Group 4
31.05.96 Sweden 1-3 Belarus, Karlstad
19.08.97 Belarus 0-1 Sweden, Minsk

• Two goals from Vadim Skripchenko helped Belarus defeat Sweden 3-1 in Karlstad on 31 May 1996 in the opening game of that qualifying campaign, the only points a Sweden side containing the likes of Fredrik Ljungberg and Olof Mellberg dropped.

• Sweden won their next nine games to secure first place in the group, including a 1-0 win over Belarus in Minsk, Erik Wahlstedt the scorer.

• Belarus goalkeeper Pavel Chesnovski was an unused substitute when his side lost 3-2 to Sweden in a UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualifying round tie in September 2002.

• Sweden and Belarus have met twice at senior international level, the Swedes recording home and away wins in the qualifying campaign for the 1998 FIFA World Cup.

• Sweden last hosted a major international football tournament in 1992, the UEFA European Championship. They drew the opening game against France but went on to reach the semi-finals.

• The Scandinavians will look to emulate the success of their senior forebears both in that competition and, looking further back, in 1958 when they finished FIFA World Cup runners-up on home soil.

Squad news
• Sweden arrived at their tournament base camp in the resort town of Bastad on Thursday evening following a two-day break for the players. The squad had spent the previous week training in Falkenberg and also played two friendly matches against Poland and Estonia, winning both 2-1.

• Marcus Berg and Rasmus Elm were rested on Friday after joining the U21s from the senior squad. Elm played in both FIFA World Cup qualifiers last week, a 1-0 defeat by Denmark on 6 June and a 4-0 win over Malta four days later, while Berg played in the latter match, scoring one of the goals.

• Sweden have no injury concerns going into the tournament and joint coach Jörgen Lennartsson was in high spirits on Sunday. "We're delighted with the interest from the media and the general public," he said. "We're expecting a full house for our opener on Tuesday, and it will be like throwing a party in our own home."

• Belarus left their training camp in the German town of Ruit and flew to Copenhagen on Sunday, making the short journey to Malmo, the venue for their two opening matches in Group A.

• They arrived without FC Dinamo Minsk striker Aleksandr Gavryushko, who had been with the squad as a standby player in the event of any injuries. As it was was Yuri Kurnenin's party reported a clean bill of health prior to their departure for Sweden, having recorded a 11-1 warm-up win against the amateurs of FC Haubersbronn on Friday.

• Shortly after their arrival on Sunday afternoon, the Belarus squad held a training session at the Malmo Old Stadium. Coach Kurnenin, who was celebrating his 55th birthday, pledged that his team would not be "whipping boys" despite their underdog status in Group A.