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EURO2008

Sweden prepares to battle talented Spanish squad

Either Spain or Sweden could wrap up a place in the Euro 2008 quarter-finals if they emerge triumphant from the pair's Group D meeting here on Saturday.

Sweden prepares to battle talented Spanish squad

Both won their opening matches with Spain particularly impressive in dismantling Russia 4-1 while Sweden defeated the holders Greece 2-0.

Those results put the pair in pole position to qualify from the group and a victory for either one on Saturday would virtually assure their progress to the next stage.

And while Sweden were gritty and controlled in breaking down the negative Greeks, thanks in no small part to the continued brilliance of veteran forward Henrik Larsson and a moment of magic from Inter Milan star Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Spain sizzled in their destruction of Guus Hiddink’s Russia.

It has all left the coach of the perennial underachievers feeling boisterous as Spain go in search of their first international title in 44 years.

“My only desire is to win as many matches for Spain as possible and because my life view is that the glass is always half full, not half empty, I neither get carried away with victory nor does defeat destroy me,” said Luis Aragones.

“Every one of my four losses as national coach is a thorn in my side, particularly one of them (defeat to France in the World Cup two years ago).

“Defeat lingers in my heart, it bounces around my brain. If I’ve a message for Spain’s magnificent fans it is that this group of players is here to win the tournament at all costs.”

One of their vital cogs is Liverpool forward Fernando Torres, whom Aragones surprisingly hauled off just 10 minutes into the second half of the Russia game.

And Aragones admitted the striker wasn’t happy about being substituted but he insisted that his thinking was just.

“I understand if Fernando’s a little ticked off with me because this happened to me as a player and I know how I felt,” he said.

“But my thinking is that every footballer who comes off early is irritated with himself more than anything else. That’s how I always reacted.”

The Swedes, for their part, are expecting few surprises against the technically gifted Spaniards.

“We know Spain very well because we played them twice during the qualifiers,” said Sweden coach Lars Lagerbäck. “They are a very technical team who don’t give you many chances.”

“It’s clear that they are very fast in the middle of the park, they like to have the ball at their feet but my team showed against Greece that they can work very hard.

“I was really delighted because they implemented almost to perfection the style of play I asked of them.”

During the qualifiers the honours were shared between the two teams, Sweden winning 2-0 at home before going down 3-0 in Spain.

“They’re very technical, very physical also. I think the match will be similar to the one against Greece, we will have to be patient,” added Lagerbäck who claimed this game would be decisive.

“This match will decide the group standings,” he added.

FOOTBALL

Veteran keeper Lehmann exits German national squad

Germany's veteran goalkeeper Jens Lehmann is handing in his international gloves after 10 years' service, the German Football Association (DFB) said on Friday.

The 38-year-old Lehmann was the oldest player at Euro 2008 in Switzerland and Austria when Germany lost to Spain in the June 29 final. The keeper, who quit Arsenal at the end of last season to join Stuttgart, decided to step down after a discussion with Germany’s national coach Joachim Löw and goalkeeping coach Andreas Kopke.

Lehmann explained he wanted to give a chance for another keeper to prove himself in time for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. “I was not able to guarantee to the national coach that I would still be playing football at the end of the coming season during which I am under contract to Stuttgart,” he said in the statement. “Under these conditions I proposed to him and to Andreas Kopke that they should no longer include me in the national squad. It has been a good period for me in the German team.”

The Euro 2008 final on June 29 in Vienna will therefore have been Lehmann’s final appearance for his country. He was first chosen to be in the national side on February 18 1998 against Oman then shared duties in goal over the next eight years with arch-rival Oliver Kahn until the latter retired in 2006.

The DFB made no mention of who would replace Lehmann. Foremost among contenders are Bayern Leverkusen’s Rene Adler, (23) and Hanover’s Robert Enke (30).

Coach Löw paid tribute to Lehmann saying: “He brought a great deal to German football. Above all it was his leadership quality which impressed me. I don’t know many players able to bring such experience into a team.”

For German fans, Lehmann’s achievement in winning the 2006 World Cup quarterfinal against Argentina in Berlin with two dramatic penalty stops will be the most memorable moment of his long career.

The 1.90 metre (6ft 2ft) tall keeper started his career at Schalke 04 in 1988, he had a year at AC Milan in 1998/99, then returned to Germany to play for Borussia Dortmund. Arsene Wenger brought him to Arsenal in 2003 and he spent four seasons at the London club.