Zlatan Ibrahimovic has undoubtedly been responsible for taking Sweden up until the group stages of the Euro 2012. However, he needs to be fit for the match against England in order to help Sweden qualify for the quarter-finals of the competition.
It was revealed that the AC Milan striker suffered a knock in the match against Ukraine that is likely to rule him out of the England match. However, the Sweden national team manager Erik Hamren has confirmed that their talisman will be ready for the match against England. Sweden lost in the opening match against Ukraine 2-1.
They know that further defeat at the hands of England will all but eliminate them from the competition. Hence, they need to be targeting three points in order to stay in the tournament. Ukraine are currently top of the group having won their opening match, while France and England are sharing one point each due to their 1-1 draw.
France will be taking on Ukraine in the second round, while Sweden will have to face the tough opponents in the form of France in the final group game. Hence, they need to at least draw the match in order to have any chance of qualification according to manager Erik Hamren, according to the Man Utd news website.
“If you look at the goals against Ukraine, the first one is a class finish, you can’t really say anyone let themselves down. For the second defender Mikael Lustig should have stayed on the post. But I’m confident we can win. It’s going to be a very tough match, and I’d like to see players with a bit of fighting spirit in there – in with Pontus Wernbloom, in with Jonas Olsson fighting against the likes of Wayne Rooney. But it’s a long time since England beat us in a competitive match,” said Erik Hamren ahead of the England match.