Euro 2008 Sweden Team Guide
Welcome to the euro2008betting.com Sweden Team Guide for Euro 2008. Here we preview the chances of Sweden for Euro 2008 plus take a look back at their Euro 2008 qualifiying performance and previous appearances at the European Championships.
Coach: Lars Lagerbäck
Lars Lagerbäck is the Swedish national team manager. After Euro 2004, he became the sole manager for the Swedish
national football team. He first joined the Swedish coaching staff in 1997 as an assistant to Tommy Söderberg,
and was promoted to joint coach in 2000. The pair led Sweden through the 2002 World Cup and Euro 2004.
Lagerbäck has already stated that he will resign from his position after the Euro 2008 campaign is over.
Euro 2008 Qualifying:
Sweden qualified in second place in Group F behind Spain, completing the job on the last night of qualifying when they beat Latvia 2-1 and Northern Ireland lost in Spain. Lars Lagerbäck's side made a bright start, winning their opening four games – including a 2-0 success over section favourites Spain courtesy of goals from Johan Elmander and Marcus Allbäck. They then suffered a setback when beaten 2-1 by Northern Ireland in Belfast in March 2007, with two goals from David Healy cancelling out Elmander's opener. Sweden were awarded a 3-0 win against Denmark in their next game after the qualifier in Copenhagen was abandoned after a Danish spectator attacked the match referee, who had just awarded Sweden a late penalty with the scores level at 3-3. Sweden would have qualified with two games to spare only to draw 1-1 at home against Northern Ireland. The champagne remained on ice after they lost their penultimate qualifier 3-0 in Spain. The victory over Latvia on 21 November 2007 – Kim Källström getting the winner - ensured qualification for a fifth successive major finals tournament.
Past Euro Performance:
As tournament hosts, Sweden advanced to the semi-finals of the 1992 UEFA European Championship, a competition that was the last to feature eight teams in the final round. The Swedes topped their group following victories against Denmark (1-0) and England (2-1) after opening the competition with a 1-1 draw against France at the Råsunda stadium. But Sweden found Germany too stern an opponent in the semis, making their exit following a 3-2 defeat.
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