Sweden settle on final U21 party

UEFA European Under-21 Championship hosts Sweden have confirmed their squad for this summer's finals, which get started in three weeks' time.

'Competiton for places'
Coaches Jörgen Lennartsson and Tommy Söderberg have named seven defenders in the 23-man party, while just two of the squad are regulars with the senior international side – FC Groningen's Marcus Berg and Rasmus Elm of Kalmar FF. "Competition for places has been increasing all the time," said Lennartsson. "We felt we had a lot of exciting offensive players. That's why we picked seven defenders instead of eight. Several of the midfielders can play there if required."

Ekdal omitted
Swedish Allsvenskan leaders IFK Göteborg provide four players, with three coming from Helsingborgs IF and AIK Solna, and two each from Malmö FF and IF Elfsborg. However, there is no place for Albin Ekdal. The Juventus midfielder has been troubled by a groin problem and has not played competitively since the U21s drew 1-1 with Italy on 11 February. Göteborg's 18-year-old Robin Söder is the youngest inclusion. Sweden begin their campaign against Belarus on 16 June before playing Italy three days later and concluding Group A against Serbia on 23 June.

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

Defenders: Rasmus Bengtsson (Trelleborgs FF), Mattias Bjärsmyr (IFK Göteborg), Joel Ekstrand (Helsingborgs IF), Emil Johansson (Hammarby), Per Karlsson (AIK Solna), Mikael Lustig (Rosenborg BK), Martin Olsson (Blackburn Rovers FC).

Midfielders: Emir Bajrami (IF Elfsborg), Pierre Bengtsson (AIK Solna), Rasmus Elm (Kalmar FF), Labinot Harbuzi (Malmö FF), Andreas Landgren (Helsingborgs IF), Guillermo Molins (Malmö FF), Gabriel Özkan (AIK Solna), Robin Söder (IFK Göteborg), Gustav Svensson (IFK Göteborg).

Forwards: Denni Avdic (IF Elfsborg), Marcus Berg (FC Groningen), Ola Toivonen (PSV Eindhoven), Pontus Wernbloom (IFK Göteborg).