World Cup ’94 : WORLD CUP USA ’94 / GROUP B PREVIEW : Sweden at a Glance
* COACH: Tommy Svensson.
* KEY PLAYERS: Tomas Brolin, Martin Dahlin, Thomas Ravelli.
* STRENGTHS: The Swedish team gained huge confidence and a sense of togetherness by finishing third in the 1992 European Championship, played in Sweden. A pair of talented strikers in Dahlin and Brolin, excellent midfielders in Jonas Thern and Stefan Schwarz, hard-tackling defenders like Jan Eriksson and Roland Nilsson, and a veteran goalkeeper in Ravelli will make it a difficult team to beat.
* WEAKNESSES: The team seldom rises to any great height in terms of performance. It does well enough to win but lacks sparkle. It is fast up front and on the wings but a lot slower in midfield and on defense, something that could be exploited by Brazil and Cameroon.
* WORLD CUP HISTORY: Eight previous appearances. Record of 11-14-6. Best finish was as runner-up in 1958. Was fourth in 1938 and third in 1950.
* LITTLE-KNOWN FACT: Defender Joachim Bjorklund is the nephew of Coach Tommy Svensson.
* OUTLOOK: After a disastrous 1990 World Cup when it lost all three matches and went home from Italy licking its wounds, Sweden should do much better this time around. On paper, it is the second-best team in its first-round group and will advance with ease. The luck of the draw comes into play after that, but the Swedes could make the final eight.
* PREDICTED FIRST-ROUND FINISH: Second.
ROSTERS
No. Name Position 1 Thomas Ravelli Goalkeeper 12 Lars Erikson Goalkeeper 22 Magnus Hedman Goalkeeper 2 Roland Nilsson Defender 3 Patrik Andersson Defender 4 Joachim Bjorklund Defender 5 Roger Ljung Defender 13 Mikael Nilsson Defender 14 Jan Eriksson Defender 15 Pontus Kamark Defender 6 Stefan Schwarz Midfielder 7 Henrik Larsson Midfielder 8 Klas Ingesson Midfielder 9 Jonas Thern Midfielder 16 Anders Limpar Midfielder 17 Stefan Rehn Midfielder 21 Jesper Blomqvist Midfielder 10 Martin Dahlin Forward 11 Tomas Brolin Forward 18 Hakan Mild Forward 19 Kennet Andersson Forward 20 Magnus Erlingmark Forward
