Home comforts boost Bjärsmyr

When Sweden Under-21 captain Mattias Bjärsmyr leads his team out against England at the Gamla Ullevi on Friday, he will do so with great confidence – after all, he has never lost at Gothenburg's new stadium.

Unbeaten
Centre-back Bjärsmyr forms part of a strong spine for the host nation together with Gustav Svensson, Pontus Wernbloom and Marcus Berg – all products of IFK Göteborg's youth system. While Wernbloom will watch the UEFA European U21 Championship semi-final from the stands through suspension, Bjärsmyr and Svensson will take the field still undefeated at their home ground where they have each played eight games for club and country.

'Confidence'
"I'll walk on to the pitch with higher confidence than usual," Bjärsmyr said of playing at the recently-inaugurated arena. "It would be a bad moment if the England game was my first loss here." Svensson added that the familiarity of playing with club-mates Bjärsmyr and Wernbloom has contributed to Sweden's success at the finals, saying: "IFK's investment in young players is getting results. We are well-trained, healthy, on top of the Allsvenskan, and now in the Under-21 semis. We have played together for a long time, which gives us security."

Different challenge
Bjärsmyr expects a different test against England compared with Sweden's three group games. "They are quick and will be running in behind us," explained the 23-year-old, who has not missed a minute of tournament action. "Neither Italy nor Serbia did that. England haven't pressed the opposition as much as usual. Their opponents have had a lot of possession, but England have quick players up front so I am sure we will have to work hard in defence."

England threat
With his laid-back approach, Bjärsmyr is not a skipper who is constantly shouting and cajoling colleagues. Rather, his softly-spoken style exudes a calm which seemingly signals that his side have nothing to fear. One potential danger, though, is defending set-pieces. England have scored two of their five championship goals from deadball situations, with Sweden conceding twice from the same source. "We've had two errors in two games from set-pieces, we know we have to be more focused," said Bjärsmyr. "We have seen what England are capable of, Micah Richards in particular."

Main prize
At the other end of the pitch, Bjärsmyr hopes Berg and Ola Toivonen will cause Richards and Michael Mancienne problems of their own. "Their central defenders are very good players, but they don't seem to like balls played in behind them," he said. "Also, they are not as good technically as, for example, the Italy defenders. If we apply some pressure I believe we will be able to win the ball back." If Sweden targeted a last-four finish at the tournament's start, those sights have now been raised, Bjärsmyr went on: "We could never be satisfied with reaching the semi-finals. Right after the Serbia game, we were, but now we might as well go all the way and win the thing."