Sweden prepare with a party

Focus on Dutch
Players and coaches enjoyed Swedish delicacies like herring and meatballs today, which delighted captain Olof Mellberg. "This meal took our minds off the game for a while, which felt good," the Aston Villa FC defender said. "But our main focus right now is the Netherlands. We had a chance to celebrate Midsummer's Eve, but we can celebrate properly when we get home."

Ruud warning
At the Estádio Algarve, Mellberg will come up against the tournament's joint-top scorer Ruud van Nistelrooij, the Manchester United FC player who has four goals. "I've played against him in England and he's a top-class striker, so we have to be very focused," warned Mellberg. "He's the kind of player who only needs one chance to score a goal."

Same routine
Goalkeeper Andreas Isaksson agreed with Mellberg's assessment but vowed to make no special plans to deal with the Dutch danger-man. "He is strong, quick and lethal in front of goal, but I have to concentrate on my own game," he said. "That has worked well in the tournament so far and I don't see any reason to change now."

Dutch favourites
Sweden's players have billed themselves as underdogs for the game, even though they won Group C while the Netherlands were runners-up in Group D. "We always play better when we are considered to be the weaker side," explained midfield player Fredrik Ljungberg. "We always do well against strong teams. That's one of the reasons we are in the quarter-finals."

No penalties please
Ljungberg hoped to avoid a repeat of the penalty shoot-out drama that befell some of his Arsenal FC team-mates in England's defeat by Portugal last night. "It's a bitter way to go out, but penalties are sometimes the only way to settle it. We want to kill the game before it comes to penalties."

Preparation makes perfect
The Swedes have done their homework on their opponents, Ljungberg added. "They like to keep possession of the ball and can easily pass it around until an opening occurs in the opposition defence," he said. "If they are allowed to play like that it will be very difficult. We have to put pressure on them, take control of the ball and try to dominate the game."