Sweden name 23 for Portugal

By Jan Juhlin

The deadline for naming UEFA EURO 2004™ squads may be 2 June but, almost a month in advance, Sweden have already announced their provisional 23-man party for the finals.

Question mark
The return of Henrik Larsson has already generated much discussion in Sweden, so the main talking point today was the question mark against three players - Michael Svensson, Johan Mjällby and Marcus Allbäck - named in the party but whose places are dependent on their proving their fitness.

'Must be sure'
"We know what Allbäck, Svensson and Mjällby are capable off, but all of them have been injured and we want to be sure that they're fully fit," said co-coach Lars Lagerbäck. Svensson, who plays for Southampton FC, will not feature again in the Premiership this season because of a knee problem, on which he is currently having tests. Lagerbäck said: "Svensson is definitely in our minds, but we must be sure that he's fully fit before including him."

Time to gel
The same applies to Mjällby who has just recently returned from injury at Celtic FC, and Allbäck, who has made only one league start for Aston Villa FC this term. These three players apart, Lagerbäck is hoping that naming the squad this early will help the players to gel. For the Sweden coaches, teamwork is the key. "We've seen the players over a long period and we look at how they work as a part of the unit," Lagerbäck said of his selection.

No1
There were no surprises in the goalkeeping position, with Djurgårdens IF's Andreas Isaksson, FC København's Magnus Kihlstedt and Celtic's Magnus Hedman, currently on loan at Ancona Calcio, the men named. Andreas Isaksson is Lagerbäck and co-coach Tommy Söderberg's No1 choice.

Wahlstedt included
In defence, the inclusion of Erik Wahlstedt caps a remarkable change of fortune for the Helsingborgs IF player. Before last week's friendly in Portugal, he had not played for his country since winning his first cap in a January 1998 friendly against the United States. Having been converted to a right-back during a spell in Denmark with Esbjerg fB, he is now excelling in that position for Helsingborg. He is one of only three home-based players in the party, together with Isaksson and Halmstads BK midfield player Mikael Nilsson.

Wilhelmsson wins place
In midfield, Christian Wilhelmsson's inspirational recent displays against England and Portugal earned him a spot in the squad, while the Portugal-based Anders Andersson - who is on loan at CF Os Belenenses from SL Benfica - was also included. RC Strasbourg's Pontus Farnerud will be relieved to have seen his name on the list after missing the last three games. Up front, the uncertainty over Allbäck, means there are only three strikers definitely going to Portugal - Henrik Larsson, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Mattias Jonson.

Goalkeepers
Andreas Isaksson (Djurgårdens IF)
Magnus Hedman (Ancona Calcio)
Magnus Kihlstedt (FC København)

Defenders
Petter Hansson (SCHeerenveen)
Andreas Jakobsson (Brøndby IF)
Teddy Lucic (Bayer 04 Leverkusen)
Erik Edman (SC Heerenveen)
Olof Mellberg (Aston Villa FC)
Erik Wahlstedt (Helsingborgs IF)
Johan Mjällby (Celtic FC)
Michael Svensson (Southampton FC)

Midfielders
Pontus Farnerud (RC Strasbourg)
Fredrik Ljungberg (Arsenal FC)
Anders Svensson (Southampton FC)
Mikael Nilsson (Halmstads BK)
Kim Källström (Stade Rennais FC)
Anders Andersson (SL Benfica)
Tobias Linderoth (Everton FC)
Christian Wilhelmsson (RSC Anderlecht)

Forwards
Henrik Larsson (Celtic FC)
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (AFC Ajax)
Mattias Jonson (Brøndby IF)
Marcus Allbäck (Aston Villa FC)