Sweden: "We keep the feet on the ground"

Sweden: "We keep the feet on the ground"

Sun Jan 23 2011

They already reached their final destination, and they still have all chances to reach their final objective, too: Sweden, the host of the World Championship, have their fate in their own hands before the crucial matches of the Main Round in Malmö.

The team of the coaching duo Staffan Olsson/Ola Lindgren started well in the second stage of the competition by beating Serbia. But Olsson knows that the tough opponents will follow: “We are very happy with our opening victory, and we are satisfied with our performance. But the semi-final is still far away.” Sweden will meet Croatia today and Denmark on Tuesday – and especially the match against the runners-up of 2009 will be pre-decisively for the rest of the tournament. “We keep our feet on the ground,” Olsson said, “as Croatia is one of the big contenders for the medals. We have to prove our performance again and again.”

Sweden lost one match up to now – against underdog Argentina. “Afterwards against Poland and Serbia we have shown that this was a single failure. We stood up and we have the strength to keep up with our opponents.” Currently Sweden have 4:2 points on their account, Croatia have 3:3 after beating Argentina clearly at the start of the Main Round. In Olsson’s opinion the goalkeepers can decide this game – as his goalkeeper Johan Sjöstrand showed an impressive performance against Serbia, he will face Mirko Allilovic from Croatia. “If our defense stands as strong as against Serbia, we have a chance to stop world stars like Ivano Balic or Igor Vori,” Olsson says.

And the last Main Round match will be something very special against Denmark. “Maybe we have an away match at home, as so many Danish spectators come to Malmö,” Olsson says. But first he focus on Croatia – if his team win, the gate to the semi finals is widely opened.

Tags:
Comment using Facebook Connect

Comments

Sun Jan 23 2011, 17:53
yohan writes:
one of the worst organized, if not the most, championships of anykind since i can remember. and referees are no better
Sun Jan 23 2011, 18:56
referees!!! writes:
sweden has had the referees on their side the whole tournament... and yesterday against serbia you could clearly see it... they would never have won if it wasent because of the referees... pure bull... i hope croatia beats them.. i hate those teams playing with the referees on their side every singel match
Sun Jan 23 2011, 19:08
Slodan writes:
The serbs don't know how to lose, can't paly to win, then they cry "the referees were agains us".... Kids! Grow up and learn to play.
Sun Jan 23 2011, 19:17
joerg writes:
the game against cro is on, lets see how 6 swedes and 2 referees can fare against croatia
Sun Jan 23 2011, 20:57
not important writes:
wow, it would be realy cool to have the referees on your side making all the calls against the opponents, would it not? But oh, it seems that they are making as many calls against sweden as they do against their opponent...starnge... well I guess they are just bad teammates!
Sun Jan 23 2011, 21:04
morot writes:
Of course you blame the referees when you're losing! SWEDEN HAS GOT THE MOST SUSPENSIONS IN THE WHOLE TURNAMENT: _AND_ THE REFEREES ARE WITH THEM? Seriously? Stop crying, babies.
Sun Jan 23 2011, 21:09
Igge writes:
Sweden plays most phyisical defence, and should get many more suspensions - even at certain point said by Swedish commentators. But... tonite win against Croatia was well deserved. Its OK to play the best way team can, its up for the others to match it back. Hope that Sweden goes all the way now...
Sun Jan 23 2011, 21:18
Thor writes:
Good victory for Denmark and Sweden. Good job! Look forward to meet you in the semi finals..
Sun Jan 23 2011, 21:41
Daniel writes:
yea the referees have been on Sweden´s side the whole tournament.. that is why Sweden were dismissed 11 times against South Korea, and the Koreans were dismissed 4 times, a game u guys hardly watched..
Sun Jan 23 2011, 23:08
Smagma writes:
This is the end of the road for Sweden. Luck and referees can carry you only so far. Any country that loses to Argentina has no place in semi-final. Wait till they play Denmark. They'll lose with 15 goals difference...
Sun Jan 23 2011, 23:51
Daniel writes:
@SmagmaWoow luck and referees , Sweden is one of the most dismissed teams in the tournament. The refs dont wanna be giving Sweden any advantages so they hand out 2 mins to Sweden quite a lot. Just look at the statistics regarding that. You are a bitter person. And what if Sweden lose to Denmark? Both teams are already qualified for the semifinals.I have a feeling the team you cheer for did not make it to the semi. You have no idea what you are talking about and you take it out on the referees. But sure, if that lmakes you feel good. Then be my guest..
Mon Jan 24 2011, 04:56
Smagma writes:
Refs always favor the home team, in every sport. This is no exception. Also, Sweden plays too rough to make up for the lack of ability upfront. They do have a decent keeper, I give them that. Very good one actually. He's responsible they didn't lose to Croatia. I predict Sweden will be 4th. They'll lose the semi-final, and the 3rd place game.
Tue Jan 25 2011, 17:38
Daniel writes:
I do concurr that refs usually favor the home team, but I do not believe it to be true in Sweden´s case. It is almost as if the refs are so desperate as to not give Sweden any advantages, that they dismiss them more often than the opponents. A sort of over-compensation if you will. Which is not good refereing either. But your argument is that because refs usually favor the home team in sports then that must be the case here as well. That is not true, and not a very good argument. Sweden are in the semis because they deserve it,they have played well enough to earn that place in the semis. And also you say that you predict Sweden will end up in 4th place. I never said anything about Sweden winning the World cup. I hope you didnt read that into what i said. But Sweden still deserve to play in the semis nonetheless.