Russia - Sweden - What can we expect?
Wednesday, 18 June 08, 06:44 PM
Even though Spain is playing today, the Spain - Greece game is not at all the match of the day in my opinion. I love watching smaller teams fight it out and create a show. The stage is set for the Russia - Sweden match coming in 30 minutes, a fight for qualification and pride.
What I'm excited about today is the possibility of seeing Arshavin in action for the first time in Euro 2008. The press says that "Andrei Arshavin is available for the first time in these finals after serving a two-match ban yet there are no guarantees the FC Zenit St. Petersburg playmaker will start as Hiddink ponders possible changes to a team he believes did a "decent job" in defeating Greece 1-0 on Saturday. "There's a lack of rhythm to Arshavin's game because he hasn't played recently. He's not match-fit so I don't know if he'll start," said the coach. Yuri Zhirkov and Diniyar Bilyaletdinov are also likely to be available, despite bruised knees picked up against the deposed holders and Dmitri Torbinski is recovering from fatigue."
While Russia has players coming back from injury, Sweden is in a different dilemma. "We're not sure about Ibrahimović. We have an individual training plan for him," said Lagerbäck, already without Christian Wilhelmsson due to a hamstring problem while Niclas Alexandersson is struggling with a calf strain.
Lagerbäck also said that "Russia have a strong team offensively and we have to be very focused on that." "All their players are good; they're very strong on the left side in particular. We always prepare in a similar way. There's nothing dramatic, it's just about being ready for all the eventualities that may arise. What we need to improve on is keeping the ball in the final third. It's very difficult to say who are the favourites as it's such a decisive game. It starts at 50-50 I think."
I'll be supporting Russia in this game, although it is a bit hard for me to do so, but they've shown some good moments, a good mentality and Hiddink is a manager I respect a lot. I will also live-blog this game in the Russia vs. Sweden Match Centre on OleOle. See you there!
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