Larsson's Sweden hint

'Change of heart'
Larsson came out of retirement briefly last April to help an injury-hit Sweden side win a EURO 2004™ qualifying tie in Hungary but his public pronouncements since then had indicated he would not return again. However, Larsson's agent, Rob Jansen, said today that the 32-year-old was close to "a change of heart".

Regular contact
It is understood that Larsson, who is in regular contact with Sweden's joint-coaches Lars Lagerbäck and Tommy Söderberg, has agreed to wait until the spring to assess his fitness before making a final decision on whether he will play in Portugal.

President's letter
UEFA President Lennart Johansson joined the calls for Larsson to come out of retirement when he wrote a letter to the forward late last year. At the time Larsson was adamant that he would not reverse his decision to retire as he said: "It's nice to receive a personal letter from Europe's most powerful football leader, but it's not going to change anything."

June showpiece
However, Jansen's comments indicate that Larsson, who will leave Celtic this summer, may yet figure for his country in the June showpiece. "It is a total change of heart from Henrik, but he has been touched by the feelings of his nation," he was quoted as saying in the British press. "It is in Henrik's mind, but he has not yet made a final decision."

Wealth of experience
Larsson has made 73 appearances for Sweden and played in the 1994 and 2002 FIFA World Cup finals as well as at EURO '92 and UEFA EURO 2000™. This season he has scored 33 goals already for Celtic, including five in European competition.