Germany 2006 will be Sweden’s eleventh FIFA World Cup Finals appearance, with a remarkable record of successes in the Finals for such a small nation.

They reached the semi-finals at the 1938 Finals, won the Olympic football gold medal in 1948, and with the legendary trio of Gunnar Gren, Nils Liedholm and Gunnar Nordahl, the ‘Super Swedes’ went all the way to the final when they hosted the World Cup Finals in 1958. However, after eliminating holders West Germany in the semi-finals, the Swede's lost 5-2 to Brazil in the final.

Sweden’s made it to the last-four in USA ‘94, with the impressive performances of a team boasting the strike-power of Kennet Andersson, Tomas Brolin and Martin Dahlin, but the eventual winners Brazil defeated them in the semi-finals. The Swedes secured third place in the play-off, with an stunning 4-0 win against Bulgaria.

Under the joint coaching of Lars Lagerback and Tommy Soderbergh, the Swedes reached the second round at Korea/Japan 2002, topping a group that included England and Argentina, but then lost to Senegal in the last sixteen.

Tommy Soderbergh stepped down after UEFA EURO 2004, where the Swede's suffered another second-round defeat, losing on penalties to the Netherlands, and since then Lagerback has been in sole charge, albeit with the support of long-term associate Roland Andersson.

In qualification for Germany 2006, Sweden only just avoided having to participate in a play-off for a place in the finals, having lost twice to the group winners Croatia, Sweden finished level with Croatia on 24 points to automatically qualify, along with Poland, as one of the two best placed runners-up in the Europe Zone in the qualification for the FIFA World Cup 2006, Germany.

Currently ranked 14th in the world, Coach Lars Lagerback’s Sweden could cause some surprises in the World Cup Finals in Germany.

Having won eight out of their ten of their group qualifying matches, and averaging an amazing tally of three goals per game and in the process only conceding four, they have proved themselves to be a match for any team. They have immense experience and talent in their squad, and a consistency that could easily see them reach the last sixteen in the tournament.

Sweden’s obvious strengths are in attack, where they have fire-power a-plenty. During their qualification, in addition to the seven goals from Juventus striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Arsenal’s attacking midfielder Freddie Ljungberg, who is also a great provider of goals, matched his haul of seven goals, with Barcelona striker Henrik Larsson also coming through with four. Along with the experience of captain Olof Mellberg, and the talents of young winger Christian Wilhelmsson, Sweden will rightly feel that they could go a long way in Germany.

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Sweden Match Fixtures in the World Cup 2006

10-June-2006	Trinidad & Tobago v Sweden	18:00 BST
15-June-2006	Sweden v Paraguay	21:00 BST
20-June-2006	Sweden v England	21:00 BST

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Historic Facts

First International appearance: Sweden 11 - 3 Norway (Gothenburg; 12 July 1908)

Largest win: Sweden 12 - 0 Latvia (Stockholm; 29 May 1927)

Worst defeat: England Amateur 12 - 1 Sweden (London, England; 20 October 1908)

World Cup Finals Appearances: 1934, 1938, 1950, 1958, 1970, 1974, 1978, 1990, 1994, 2002

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Sweden Match Results - European World Cup Qualifiers, Group 4

Date	Match	Result
12-Oct-2005	Sweden - Iceland	3:1 (2:1)
07-Sep-2005	Hungary - Sweden	0:1 (0:0)
03-Sep-2005	Sweden - Bulgaria	3:0 (0:0)
04-Jun-2005	Sweden - Malta	6:0 (4:0)
26-Mar-2005	Bulgaria - Sweden	0:3 (0:1)
13-Oct-2004	Iceland - Sweden	1:4 (0:4)
09-Oct-2004	Sweden - Hungary	3:0 (1:0)
08-Sep-2004	Sweden - Croatia	0:1 (0:0)
04-Sep-2004	Malta - Sweden	0:7 (0:3)

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