Ibrahimovic set to feature
17 Jun 2008 - 18:01:08
Sweden coach Lars Lagerback is confident Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be fit enough to feature in Wednesday's final Group D match against Russia.
The Internazionale striker scored in the 2-1 defeat against Spain before being substituted at half-time and is continuing to struggle with a chronic knee problem.
Ibrahimovic has been training on his own, but Lagerback is more concerned about the prospects of Niclas Alexandersson missing the game with a leg strain.
He said: "As for Alexandersson, we're not completely sure. He's going to give it a go at training on Tuesday evening to try himself out, but I think there are some question marks as he has not performed at maximum training so far.
"For Zlatan it's more or less similar as after the previous two games."
On his side's prospects of beating Russia and qualifying for the quarter-finals, Lagerback added: "This is where it's so good to have experienced players.
"If it's a good score when it gets close to 90 minutes, you need to make sure you don't go crazy pushing everything forward, you don't have to rush your game in any way.
"We are two fairly equal teams with slightly different approaches to the game. It's 50-50 or so. I don't see us as a major or clear favourite."