Sweden vs South Korea match build up #WorldCup
TEAM NEWS
The Europeans have a fully fit squad to choose from but have only scored one goal in four games and none in their past three matches. Sweden and South Korea meet in a World Cup for the first time on Monday when they begin their campaigns in Russia.
South Korea will be captained by former Swansea City midfielder Ki Sung-yueng, while Tottenham forward Son Heung-min is one of their main players.
World champions Germany and Mexico are the other two teams in Group F.
This match will take place in Nizhny Novgorod and there are reports that less than 2,000 fans have travelled from South Korea to Russia, while more than 30,000 Swedish fans have travelled to the tournament.
SWEDEN LINE UP
1 Robin Olsen
4 Andreas Granqvist
18 Pontus Jansson
6 Ludwig Augustinsson
2 Mikael Lustig
7 Sebastian Larsson
8 Albin Ekdal
10 Emil Forsberg
17 Viktor Claesson
20 Ola Toivonen
9 Marcus Berg
SOUTH KOREA LINE UP
23 Jo Hyeon-Woo
20 Jang Hyun-Soo
19 Kim Young-Gwon
6 Park Joo-Ho
2 Lee Yong
16 Ki Sung-Yueng
13 Koo Ja-Cheol
17 Lee Jae-Sung
9 Kim Shin-Wook
7 Son Heung-Min
11 Hwang Hee-Chan
MATCH PREVIEW
Sweden are back at a World Cup finals for the first time since 2006 after beating Italy 1-0 on aggregate in their two-legged play-off.
Their World Cup squad includes six British-based players – Swansea goalkeeper c, Manchester United centre-half Victor Lindelof, Celtic defender Mikael Lustig, Leeds centre-half Pontus Jansson, Swansea left-back Martin Olsson and Hull midfielder Sebastian Larsson.
However, ex-Manchester United striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic is not in the squad, sticking to his decision to retire from international football following Euro 2016.
South Korea will be playing in their ninth successive World Cup finals and will be hoping to do better than four years ago when they finished bottom of their group with only one point (a 1-1 draw against Russia) from their three matches.
They only won four of 10 qualifying games in the third round of Asian qualification and needed a 0-0 draw away in Uzbekistan in their final match to secure their place in Russia.
Not in the best of form, they have only won one of their last six matches, including a 2-1 loss to Northern Ireland in March.
VIEWS FROM BOTH CAMPS
Sweden manager Janne Andersson said: “We are looking forward to this match against a tough opponent. We know they have technical skills, are a very fast team and we need to keep good order in everything we do.
“We are very happy with our performance so far in preparation. Twenty five days ago we all met up and we have able to work through various things and have seen very few injuries.
“I have made up mind (with the team) and I hope we do not have any last-minute events before the game. It will be the team that will give us the best position for winning, but we are all well prepared.
“We have not been able to create as much in the last few games but we have had very good opponents. We have been working more on our attacking game over the last few days.”
South Korea coach Shin Tae-yong said: “We do not know each other that well, but we are really ready for the game tomorrow and we have to win.
“Some people are saying the (Korean) fans are showing us the cold shoulder but we are doing everything we can to win. The fans in Korea are sending us their support.”
Captain Ki Sung-yueng said: “I know this will be a very good game for our fans and I hope we will have a good result.
“I really want the players to enjoy the game and take advantage of this opportunity – it will be a very important experience in their lives.
“It is good that there will be a lot of people there, whether they are Swedish or Korean, it does not matter. The players have a lot of experience and it will be great if we have a full stadium.
“We have quite a lot of players who have experience of playing at a World Cup and that is a strength for us and all the players are fully prepared.”
LAWRO’S PREDICTION
South Korea will be relying a lot on Tottenham Son Heung-min while Sweden are brilliant defensively – they kept seven clean sheets in 12 qualifying games and Italy could not manage a goal against them in either leg of their play-off.
However, that will not win them the World Cup – in fact, it might not even get them out of their group. There is effectively one space in Group F, behind Germany, and who will get it is very hard to call.
Prediction: 1-1
