Blossoming Sweden head for Spain

Joint Sweden coach Jörgen Lennartsson said it felt like his side were "growing all the time" as he and Tommy Söderberg named their 23-man squad for the upcoming friendlies against Finland and Spain.

Increasing competition
The 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championship hosts will meet fellow finalists Finland in La Manga on 27 March before playing Spain in Orihuela on four days later. This will be their last get-together before Sweden name their finals squad in mid-May, and Lenartsson said: "It feels like the team is growing all the time. The matches against the Netherlands [a 3-0 away win in November last year] and Italy [a 1-1 draw in February] were steps in the right direction, and competition for places in the squad and in the starting XI keeps increasing."

Notable absentees
Back in the squad after long absences are Walid Atta of AIK Solna, who was last picked in March 2008, and Christer Youssef of Djurgårdens IF FF, whose last U21 appearance was in October 2007. Some notable absentees are Marcus Berg and Rasmus Elm, who both have been called up for the Swedish senior team's FIFA World Cup qualifier against Portugal on 28 March.

Sweden squad
Goalkeepers: Pär Hansson (Helsingborgs IF), Johan Dahlin (FC Lyn Oslo), Kristoffer Nordfeldt (Brommapojkarna).

Defenders: Walid Atta (AIK Solna), Rasmus Bengtsson (Trelleborgs FF), Mattias Bjärsmyr (IFK Göteborg), Emil Johansson (Hammarby), Per Karlsson (AIK Solna), Erik Lund (IFK Göteborg), Mikael Lustig (Rosenborg BK), Martin Olsson (Blackburn Rovers FC).

Midfielders: Emir Bajrami (IF Elfsborg), Pierre Bengtsson (AIK Solna), Albin Ekdal (Juventus), Andreas Landgren (Helsingborgs IF), Guillermo Molins (Malmö FF), Gustav Svensson (IFK Göteborg), Christer Youssef (Djurgårdens IF FF), Gabriel Özkan (AIK Solna).

Forwards: Denni Avdic (IF Elfsborg), Johan Oremo (Djurgårdens IF FF), Ola Toivonen (PSV Eindhoven), Pontus Wernbloom (IFK Göteborg).