France and Sweden are set to meet in their Group D finale in a match that involves two teams going in complete opposite directions at the 2012 European Championship.
Erik Hamren's side has disappointed in the competition so far, losing both of its matches against Ukraine and England by one-goal margins. The Swedes have been eliminated from the tournament, but will be looking to salvage any inkling of pride that they can.
Jun 18, 2012 - Sweden came into Group D with high hopes, considering their seemingly average competition. They started the tournament against a Ukraine team that had home field advantage, but inferior talent. Their second game was against England before Wayne Rooney returned from suspension. If they could take four points from their first two games, they might not even need a win against France on the last day to go through.
They lost both of those games, and they've already been eliminated from the tournament. They didn't look like they had a lot of fight against Ukraine, and their only form of attack to speak of in their match against England was Olaf Mellberg headers on set pieces. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who was pegged for a dominant tournament, has gone missing for long periods of games. His teammates deserve just as much blame as he has -- all of the forwards around him have been basically useless -- but he's still going to get the brunt of the criticism because he is Zlatan.
No matter what kind of team Sweden fields, they're going to have a tough time with France. Bringing in Jeremy Menez and Gael Clichy for Florent Malouda and Patrice Evra was a stroke of genius from Laurent Blanc, and he'll probably stick with the same front four and left back against Sweden. If he does make a change, it will probably come in the center of midfield. Yann M'Vila came on as a substitute and could be fit enough to start on Tuesday. He'll replace Alou Diarra if he does come in.
Teams’ Information:
Sweden Squad Possible Lineups
Goalkeepers: Hansson, Isaksson, WilandStrikers: Elmander, Hysen, Ibrahimovic, Rosenberg, toivonen
Midfield: Bajrami, Elm, Holmen, Kallstrom, Larsson, Svensson, Wembloo, Wilhemsson
Defense: Antonsson, Grangvist, Lustig, Melberg, J. Olsson, M. Olsson safari
Coach: Roy Hodgson
France Squad Possible Lineups
Goalkeepers: carrasso, Lioris, Mahanda
Strikers: Ben Arfa, Benzema, Ribery, giroud, Menez, Valbuena
Midfield: Cabaye, Diarra, Malouda, Martin, Matuidi, M’vila, Nasiri
Defense: Clichy, Debuchy, Evra, Koscieiny, Mexes, Reveillere
Coach: Laurent Blanc
0 comments:
Post a Comment