Sweden Finland Preview: looking for a few good men!

October 5th, 2011 | by: aron | Comments Off

I would hate to be in Helsinki this coming Friday. Its already enough that the cruise ships that trawl back and forth between Stockholm and the Finish capital bring their fair share of completely loaded weekend alcoholics. It’s another thing when you mix this with a football game. Come Friday night, Helsinki is going to be packed with Sweden supporters singing loud and obnoxiously while downing beer after beer. I am guessing that the stadium is going to be sold out, and add to all this that the game on paper means nothing for the Finns. Their chances of making the Euros have already long since disappeared. To be clinically exact, they died the moment that Sami Hyppiä red carded himself away against Moldova.

Finland are a team that pack a punch though, or perhaps it would be better to say that they are a team that can pack a punch. Come Friday despite not having a chance in hell of making the Euros, they are going to do all they can to frustrate Swedens chances of making the 2012 party. First there is the humiliating 5-0 loss earlier this year at a sunny and warm Råsunda (the highlight of Swedish football this year) and then there is the fact that they are playing their old arch-rival. Sure our football rivalry is nothing like the one in ice hockey, but there is still the idea that beating a Sweden squad of this depth and talent at this point in time would be a major moral victory for the sporting nation as a whole. If we think of the Hungarians celebrating their 90^th minute goal a month ago as if it was the world cup final, then imagine what Helsinki Olympic Stadium would do in a similar situation.

Looking at the Sweden squad, there are some things that need to be addressed. We have a problem with our defensive line. Leftbacks Oscar Wendt and Behrang Safari have been dropped from the team and now Martin Olsson is going to be starting on Friday. Hamren did the right thing by cutting both Safari and Wendt in that neither of the two had showed cool heads and neither had impressed in important games thus far. The big question mark with a guy like Martin Olsson is how well he can defend. Sure he plays for Blackburn on a regular basis in that position, but at the same time its kind of a well known fact that he is better going forward then keeping his eye on the defensive side of life. We need a player who can do both. The same kind of critique can be leveled against Mikael Lustig over on the right side and while I am not overly impressed with him, there is no other option at the moment.

Daniel Majstorovic has also been performing under par for a while now and methinks that win or lose and “Maestro” has a bad game he is probably out of the starting line-up for a while. I like Maestro but liking a player for what they have done isn´t the same as backing them up when they are playing really bad. The good news for Maestro is that the king of the back four is back: our very own Viking (though his beard has been trimmed) Olof Mellberg. With Mellberg back, there is a feeling of a strong wall in the back and that will give our midfielders and strikers more confidence in knowing that they can go forward and try to win this one.

On the midfield side, it looks as if a good run of form has possibly propelled Rasmus Elm into the starting eleven. I am happy to see the young man finally taking the place that many of us have been waiting for him to step up to. If he can only come in on Friday and show who is boss then we are looking at some good times ahead for the national team. Johan Elmander is fit and therefore should get the start behind Ibrahimovic with Wilhelmsson and Larsson on the wings. There have been some questions of match fitness for Ibrahimovic, but I think he has ninety good minutes in him against Finland. As team captain and only super star, there is a lot riding on his shoulders in this game.

Predicted line-up:

Isaksson,

Lustig, Majstorovic, Mellberg, Olsson

Elm, Källström

Larsson, Elmander, Wilhelmsson

Ibrahimovic

We are going to play our usual 4-2-3-1 against a Finland whose coach Pateleinen has recently found some stability with a Christmas tree formation which looks something like 4-3-2-1. The striker in such a formation is only expected to be ready on the counter while the rest of team clogs the midfield. This is why a player like Olsson is so important as he can be the dealmaker or breaker when it comes to delivering some needed offensive runs on the left side.

We are supposed to beat Finland 8 times out of ten and only lose on an odd goal one of those two remaining. It’s going to be a tough one though and we will only win if we take our chances when we get them. There is going to be pushing and shoving and a lot of pinching and name calling, but these are professionals and it’s their job to deal with this kind of stuff. From the Finland side we need to watch out for Teemu Pukki the new Schalke striker who is always a headache for any back line. Truth be told though if we do our job, we should win this one.

Final prediction: 3-1 for Sweden and we at least make the playoffs, though anything less than a win is a catastrophe because the Netherlands aren´t going to be nice in Stockholm on Tuesday.