Beckham seems to be out for this game, plus Gerard, Neville and Murphy are also out. It doesn't look good for the English to beat the Swedes for the first in 30 something years
Gabemar
Actually I read in a newspaper today that Svennis is gonna field Beckham, he says there's no risk with playing Becks on Sunday.
I think this game will be very important for Sweden, a loss here and we prolly wont rise again. But playing against England is always special, and specially now with Svennis in charge for the britts, it'll surely spice up the game a bit :devil:
Hopefully the fact of that this is the WC will take Sweden above the low level they've actually showed before this WC with not a single win in 6 games :sigh:
Difficult to predict, a draw is pretty probable, but I guess most of ya think of a english victory. I dunno, but I voted more with heart than brain, 1-0 to Sweden :hopefull:
Only 5 days left till the big clash :dazed::nervous:
I think this game will be very important for Sweden, a loss here and we prolly wont rise again. But playing against England is always special, and specially now with Svennis in charge for the britts, it'll surely spice up the game a bit :devil:
Hopefully the fact of that this is the WC will take Sweden above the low level they've actually showed before this WC with not a single win in 6 games :sigh:
Difficult to predict, a draw is pretty probable, but I guess most of ya think of a english victory. I dunno, but I voted more with heart than brain, 1-0 to Sweden :hopefull:
Only 5 days left till the big clash :dazed::nervous:
Thursday, May 30, 2002
Ljungberg set to face England
Sweden are prepared to play Freddie Ljungberg against England on Sunday despite his continued injury problems.
The Arsenal midfielder limped out of training yesterday and there were fears that his recurring hip and back complaints and a possible groin injury would rule him out of the Group F clash in Saitama.
But after Ljungberg underwent a scan last night, team physician Anders Valentin told Swedish newspaper Expressen: 'He has no injury that would stop him from playing against England.
'He has pain in some muscles in the left groin but there's no rupture. We have tested him and everything feels all right.'
Swedish coach Lars Lagerback puts the injury down to the wear and tear of a domestic season in which Ljungberg's surging runs and seven goals in the last eight games helped Arsenal clinch the Double.
'He has done very little training,' said Lagerback. 'He feels a bit tired in his muscles and he had some smaller injuries that he picked up in the Premier League. It's more a reaction to a very tough ending to the season.
'We are not going to risk anything but as it looks today there won't be a problem.
'He is such an important player for us, especially with the form he has shown for Arsenal this season. I want him in the starting XI.'
Ljungberg spent most of the day relaxing at the team's Pacific Ocean resort, relieved that his World Cup dream was still alive.
'I'm much better today than yesterday,' he said. 'I still have some pain but we are hopeful.'
soccernet
Ljungberg set to face England
Sweden are prepared to play Freddie Ljungberg against England on Sunday despite his continued injury problems.
The Arsenal midfielder limped out of training yesterday and there were fears that his recurring hip and back complaints and a possible groin injury would rule him out of the Group F clash in Saitama.
But after Ljungberg underwent a scan last night, team physician Anders Valentin told Swedish newspaper Expressen: 'He has no injury that would stop him from playing against England.
'He has pain in some muscles in the left groin but there's no rupture. We have tested him and everything feels all right.'
Swedish coach Lars Lagerback puts the injury down to the wear and tear of a domestic season in which Ljungberg's surging runs and seven goals in the last eight games helped Arsenal clinch the Double.
'He has done very little training,' said Lagerback. 'He feels a bit tired in his muscles and he had some smaller injuries that he picked up in the Premier League. It's more a reaction to a very tough ending to the season.
'We are not going to risk anything but as it looks today there won't be a problem.
'He is such an important player for us, especially with the form he has shown for Arsenal this season. I want him in the starting XI.'
Ljungberg spent most of the day relaxing at the team's Pacific Ocean resort, relieved that his World Cup dream was still alive.
'I'm much better today than yesterday,' he said. 'I still have some pain but we are hopeful.'
soccernet
Thursday, May 30, 2002
I'm ready for Sweden, says Beckham
David Beckham today insisted he would be fit to last the whole of England's World Cup opener against Sweden - and urged for the hype over his left foot to stop.
Becks adds his signature to a lucky fan's shirt at training today
(Reuters)
The interest in whether or not Beckham would be fit for the finals has been so intense that he even received a message of support from the Queen.
The 27-year-old skipper confessed it was only in the last week he finally felt he would win his fitness battle after suffering the broken metatarsal in the Champions League seven weeks ago.
But now Beckham wants the spotlight to switch off him and turn onto his England team-mates as they continue the countdown to the start of the so called `Group Of Death'.
He said: 'When I initially stood on my foot, I knew it was broken and I did think that I would be out of the World Cup.
'It was pretty bad at the time and it's been a long battle to get fit. I was certainly not always confident that I would make the first game against Sweden.
'When you break a bone in your foot, you don't know exactly what is going to happen. But it is over the last four or five days that I have felt a lot better.'
And he insisted he would now be able to last the pace in Sunday's showdown in Saitama.
He insisted: 'Now I am ready for Sweden. I've trained the last two or three days with the lads. I will be able to last the 90 minutes on Sunday. I've been through a few tackles as well and it seems good.
'There has been a lot of hype around the foot and I've had a lot of well wishers from the family right up to the Queen.
'It's been great but now the focus has got to turn on to the players and the staff. It's been a little unfair on the rest of the squad because there's been so much hype around the foot.
'We need the focus to be on the World Cup now and all the thoughts should turn to trying to beat Sweden.
'We have got to believe we can come out on top. If we go into the game worrying about the other team then there are big problems. We believe we can beat Sweden.
'We've been away from home for nearly three weeks but now we can give it full throttle for the game on Sunday. We want to get as far as we can. We are not just out here for a laugh and a joke.
'It is the so-called Group of Death. We can't afford any slip-ups and we will do as much as we can to try and ensure that does not happen.'
England's arrival in the Far East has generated an incredible level of interest - with the skipper the main attraction.
But Beckham insisted he was quite used to the fanatical scenes.
'You go to training and there's 20 Japanese people running behind the coach shouting Beckham. But it's nice and you just deal with it.
'It's been amazing. I was personally looking forward to it because of the support I get.'
soccernet
I'm ready for Sweden, says Beckham
David Beckham today insisted he would be fit to last the whole of England's World Cup opener against Sweden - and urged for the hype over his left foot to stop.
Becks adds his signature to a lucky fan's shirt at training today
(Reuters)
The interest in whether or not Beckham would be fit for the finals has been so intense that he even received a message of support from the Queen.
The 27-year-old skipper confessed it was only in the last week he finally felt he would win his fitness battle after suffering the broken metatarsal in the Champions League seven weeks ago.
But now Beckham wants the spotlight to switch off him and turn onto his England team-mates as they continue the countdown to the start of the so called `Group Of Death'.
He said: 'When I initially stood on my foot, I knew it was broken and I did think that I would be out of the World Cup.
'It was pretty bad at the time and it's been a long battle to get fit. I was certainly not always confident that I would make the first game against Sweden.
'When you break a bone in your foot, you don't know exactly what is going to happen. But it is over the last four or five days that I have felt a lot better.'
And he insisted he would now be able to last the pace in Sunday's showdown in Saitama.
He insisted: 'Now I am ready for Sweden. I've trained the last two or three days with the lads. I will be able to last the 90 minutes on Sunday. I've been through a few tackles as well and it seems good.
'There has been a lot of hype around the foot and I've had a lot of well wishers from the family right up to the Queen.
'It's been great but now the focus has got to turn on to the players and the staff. It's been a little unfair on the rest of the squad because there's been so much hype around the foot.
'We need the focus to be on the World Cup now and all the thoughts should turn to trying to beat Sweden.
'We have got to believe we can come out on top. If we go into the game worrying about the other team then there are big problems. We believe we can beat Sweden.
'We've been away from home for nearly three weeks but now we can give it full throttle for the game on Sunday. We want to get as far as we can. We are not just out here for a laugh and a joke.
'It is the so-called Group of Death. We can't afford any slip-ups and we will do as much as we can to try and ensure that does not happen.'
England's arrival in the Far East has generated an incredible level of interest - with the skipper the main attraction.
But Beckham insisted he was quite used to the fanatical scenes.
'You go to training and there's 20 Japanese people running behind the coach shouting Beckham. But it's nice and you just deal with it.
'It's been amazing. I was personally looking forward to it because of the support I get.'
soccernet
Well I've just been listening to world cup tunes and I am so ready for this game now
If the English players are half as prepared as me we should take this game by the scruff and kick Sweden's backside.
Somehow I don't think that will happen, and I'm going to stick my head out on the line and go with a 2-1 win for England
If the English players are half as prepared as me we should take this game by the scruff and kick Sweden's backside.Somehow I don't think that will happen, and I'm going to stick my head out on the line and go with a 2-1 win for England
hmmm...well considering I'm a typical England supporter, who reads 'The Sun' incidently, I'll go for a 9-0 win by England, followed by a gentle stroll to the final, where we'll triumph over some foreign team by at least 4 goals
seriously, I'm expecting a draw.
seriously, I'm expecting a draw.
don't underestimate sweden... i don't particularly like either team...but since i support argentina in this group, i'd rather see this game end up a draw...
i don't particularly like either team...but since i support argentina in this group, i'd rather see this game end up a draw... 
SAITAMA, Japan, June 1 (AFP)
Sven-Goran Eriksson believes David Beckham's trusty right boot can end England's embarrassing run of results against Sweden and give his side a winning start against the Scandinavians when their World Cup campaign begins here on Sunday.
Facing a team they have not beaten in 34 years, England can ill afford to drop points from their opening Group F clash if they are to progress from the group stages with difficult matches against Argentina and Nigeria still to come.
But with dead-ball specialist Beckham making his eagerly-anticipated return after making a full recovery from the broken foot bone he suffered seven weeks ago, Eriksson is confident his talismanic captain can unlock one of the meanest defences in world football.
"To have a specialist like Beckham is very good, it's a weapon," Eriksson said. "I think he is one of the best in the world.
"I think 1968 was the last time (England beat Sweden) and before that 1947, I read it myself and of course that is incredible.
"Sweden are a very difficult opponent. They are very well organised, disciplined, hard-working and of course they have very good football players.
"But I'm very optimistic and I think we can do very well."
Sunday is likely to be an emotional day for Eriksson when his side come face to face with his native Sweden.
But the 53-year-old England coach insisted his loyalties would not be divided and was determined to come out on top against the country of his birth.
"When the game starts I won't be thinking about who we are playing, just focusing on getting the right result for England," he said.
Eriksson has a fully-fit squad from which to choose his starting 11 after Kieron Dyer won his fitness battle earlier this week.
Dyer was written off as a non-starter when he suffered knee ligament damage in Newcastle's final Premiership in early May.
But weeks of intensive physiotherapy have taken him off the treatment table and he is now ready to provide the solution to England's problem position on the left-hand side of midfield.
However, Dyer is unlikely to start against the Swedes due to a lack of match fitness but could feature at some stage of the game.
Bayern Munich midfielder Owen Hargreaves, meanwhile, is expected to line up in the centre of midfield alongside Manchester United's Paul Scholes after impressing in England's warm-up matches against South Korea and Cameroon.
Canadian-born Hargreaves said he was relishing the chance to show what he could do in an England shirt but was taking nothing for granted.
"Football is a strange business," he told a press conference at England's Awaji Island training camp on Friday.
"Things go up and down very quickly and you are only as good as your last game."
"I am still only 21 and being at this stage at this time is magnificent. I'm getting the kind of experience that most people never get the chance to enjoy."
With Beckham taking his place on the right flank England have a balanced look across the middle, but their work will be cut out if they are to nullify the threat posed by Sweden midfielder Freddie Ljungberg.
The Arsenal player, who had looked doubtful after the recurrence of a back injury, was outstanding for the Gunners last season.
His knack of scoring goals in important matches played a massive part in helping the London side clinch the English Premiership title and FA Cup.
But Ljungberg is not the only player who could spoil England's World Cup. Celtic marksman Henrik Larsson is prolific at club level and although not consistent on the international stage is a handful for any defender.
Sweden are expected to be at full strength with Magnus Svensson shaking off a foot injury and Johan Mjallby recovering from a bruised shoulder.
Coached by Tommy Soderberg and Lars Lagerback, Sweden qualified for the World Cup with the best record in the European groups, topping their table with an impressive 26 points from a possible 30.
Sven-Goran Eriksson believes David Beckham's trusty right boot can end England's embarrassing run of results against Sweden and give his side a winning start against the Scandinavians when their World Cup campaign begins here on Sunday.
Facing a team they have not beaten in 34 years, England can ill afford to drop points from their opening Group F clash if they are to progress from the group stages with difficult matches against Argentina and Nigeria still to come.
But with dead-ball specialist Beckham making his eagerly-anticipated return after making a full recovery from the broken foot bone he suffered seven weeks ago, Eriksson is confident his talismanic captain can unlock one of the meanest defences in world football.
"To have a specialist like Beckham is very good, it's a weapon," Eriksson said. "I think he is one of the best in the world.
"I think 1968 was the last time (England beat Sweden) and before that 1947, I read it myself and of course that is incredible.
"Sweden are a very difficult opponent. They are very well organised, disciplined, hard-working and of course they have very good football players.
"But I'm very optimistic and I think we can do very well."
Sunday is likely to be an emotional day for Eriksson when his side come face to face with his native Sweden.
But the 53-year-old England coach insisted his loyalties would not be divided and was determined to come out on top against the country of his birth.
"When the game starts I won't be thinking about who we are playing, just focusing on getting the right result for England," he said.
Eriksson has a fully-fit squad from which to choose his starting 11 after Kieron Dyer won his fitness battle earlier this week.
Dyer was written off as a non-starter when he suffered knee ligament damage in Newcastle's final Premiership in early May.
But weeks of intensive physiotherapy have taken him off the treatment table and he is now ready to provide the solution to England's problem position on the left-hand side of midfield.
However, Dyer is unlikely to start against the Swedes due to a lack of match fitness but could feature at some stage of the game.
Bayern Munich midfielder Owen Hargreaves, meanwhile, is expected to line up in the centre of midfield alongside Manchester United's Paul Scholes after impressing in England's warm-up matches against South Korea and Cameroon.
Canadian-born Hargreaves said he was relishing the chance to show what he could do in an England shirt but was taking nothing for granted.
"Football is a strange business," he told a press conference at England's Awaji Island training camp on Friday.
"Things go up and down very quickly and you are only as good as your last game."
"I am still only 21 and being at this stage at this time is magnificent. I'm getting the kind of experience that most people never get the chance to enjoy."
With Beckham taking his place on the right flank England have a balanced look across the middle, but their work will be cut out if they are to nullify the threat posed by Sweden midfielder Freddie Ljungberg.
The Arsenal player, who had looked doubtful after the recurrence of a back injury, was outstanding for the Gunners last season.
His knack of scoring goals in important matches played a massive part in helping the London side clinch the English Premiership title and FA Cup.
But Ljungberg is not the only player who could spoil England's World Cup. Celtic marksman Henrik Larsson is prolific at club level and although not consistent on the international stage is a handful for any defender.
Sweden are expected to be at full strength with Magnus Svensson shaking off a foot injury and Johan Mjallby recovering from a bruised shoulder.
Coached by Tommy Soderberg and Lars Lagerback, Sweden qualified for the World Cup with the best record in the European groups, topping their table with an impressive 26 points from a possible 30.
England will win 10-0 after having Danny Mills sent off after 1 min.
Heskey will grab all ten and sign for Real Madrid for £1billion.
Beckham will also make a tackle at one point in the match
and dribble past a defender
Heskey will grab all ten and sign for Real Madrid for £1billion.
Beckham will also make a tackle at one point in the match
and dribble past a defender
England victory. This isn't bias shining through - it's a fact that we're better. The England record against Sweden is not the best, nor is it respectable. We, one of the best teams in the world, historically, have not beaten Sweden for 34 years. Unfortunately for all those optimistic Sweden fans out there, none of the current players played back in 1980, so we can only look at the 4 more recent games - all of which ended in draws except the game in Stockholm in 1998.
Let's face it - if England play to our full potential, no-one can stop us. That includes Argentina, Brazil, France, Italy - no-one. We beat Germany 5-1, and they're no sloths - they beat the Saudis 8-0 today. Hopefully, we can reach those heights before we succumb to The Curse of Expectation.
Let's face it - if England play to our full potential, no-one can stop us. That includes Argentina, Brazil, France, Italy - no-one. We beat Germany 5-1, and they're no sloths - they beat the Saudis 8-0 today. Hopefully, we can reach those heights before we succumb to The Curse of Expectation.
Don't forget Germany isn't really a supernation these days even if they have showed they're better then people though.
After England beating Germany 5-1 they suddently think they are a powernation again, but please face it, England are nothing special these days...If you even advance from the group you should be happy.
After England beating Germany 5-1 they suddently think they are a powernation again, but please face it, England are nothing special these days...If you even advance from the group you should be happy.
Germany have never, ever, been the best team in the world. Never. England have.Magic#10 said:
Are you quite OK? I was pretty sure that Real Madrid were European Champions, but, I guess I was wrong...Magic#10 said:
Nobody except those that want to progress in this tournament!Magic#10 said:
Well we did beat Gemany, so we are better. No questions about that. As for being outsiders for the group - that is pure Swedish bias. Nothing else. England is a world super-power. Maybe not as good as France and Italy, but we're not as defensively naive as Argentina, and that'll give us the edge.
Remember that Freddie won't have the same impact as he does for Arsenal! He's scored only 3 times for Sweden, and the defence against which he'll be up - 3 of them play for his club side! They can read him like a book - nothing will get past Seaman tomorrow, or at least nothing from Ljungberg. He'll be lucky if he plays a part at all.
Man, how arrogant can you be? England were a minute away from being beated by Germany in the group. Only a freekick saved one point (!!!) at home against Greece which made England be safe. Isn´t this super power team supposed to beat Greece at home? :tongue:
England has been so overrated it is incredible. It´s really only the Germany match that England has performed in a good way. The other matches they haven´t been that good at all, and definetely not the worldclass team as you (English fans) seems to think they are. And Germany completely sucked in that match and made so many tactical errors that teams like San Marino would have beated them. Also to bring up the todays match is hilarious. :howler: No team should ever be able to win by 8-0 in a WC. It just shows that Saudarabia really has no business in the WC if they play like that. It´s not because of that Germany was/is such a great team.
It´s one thing being biased, but being arrogant is another thing. I hope we beat England even more now. :devil:
England has been so overrated it is incredible. It´s really only the Germany match that England has performed in a good way. The other matches they haven´t been that good at all, and definetely not the worldclass team as you (English fans) seems to think they are. And Germany completely sucked in that match and made so many tactical errors that teams like San Marino would have beated them. Also to bring up the todays match is hilarious. :howler: No team should ever be able to win by 8-0 in a WC. It just shows that Saudarabia really has no business in the WC if they play like that. It´s not because of that Germany was/is such a great team.
It´s one thing being biased, but being arrogant is another thing. I hope we beat England even more now. :devil:
And it's the arrogance like this which is why England need to put out a good performance and beat Sweden.Jimmy said:
Sweden have hardly been an in form team recently have they either???:tongue:
About time for England to put this terrible run of resuts against Sweden to one side. I for one can not wait for tomorrow.
You've just made it all the more spicy for me Jimmy
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