European Championship 2012 preview: Sweden

STV
This season Zlatan Ibrahimovic missed out on an eighth consecutive title in three seperate countries.SNS Group

Sweden are amongst the most consistent teams in European football, reaching their fourth consecutive European Championships.

After being drawn in a difficult opening group, can Sweden upset some of the favourites to reach the latter stages?

FIFA Ranking: 17

Elo Ranking: 10

Odds: 66-1

Best Performance at European Championships: Semi-finalists (1992) Sweden reached that last four when hosting their own tournament in 1992. They progressed as winners from a group which included the highly fancied England and France sides. It was only a 3-2 defeat by a talented German side which stopped Sweden reaching the final.

How they qualified: Runners up in Group E (best placed second team) Sweden qualified for the tournament by virtue of being the best second-placed team in the groups. Their guaranteed participation in the tournament was cemented when they defeated the previously unbeaten Netherlands 3-2 in the final group match.

Sweden finished with a perfect record at home, losing two of their ten qualifiers. Only the Netherlands and Hungary managed to take points from the Swedes.

The Boss: Erik Hamren Hamren only played football at a local level, never progressing to the professional game. He took his first coaching job at the age of 30, with Enkopings SK. Season-long spells with Vasby IK, Brommapojkarna and Vasalunds - who he led to second place in the Swedish league. He was given responsibility at AIK, where he won two Swedish cups in two seasons.

In 1998 he took on the job at Orgryte IS, signing Alfonso Alves from Brazil and keeping the team in the upper echelons of the Allsvenskan. He moved on to Denmark and AaB, winning the Danish league in 2007/08. He was appointed Swedish boss in 2009.

One to watch: Rasmus Elm (AZ) After enjoying a thoroughly productive season in the Eredivisie with AZ, Elm may well catch the eye of a number of high-profile suitors in the European Championships. A hard-working midfielder with energy and a range of passing, Elm has earned a reputation in the Netherlands for scoring important goals. Still only 24, he could be a key player this summer.

Likely line-up: One of Sweden's biggest strengths is the stability and experience of the squad. Deploying a 4-2-3-1 formation, the Swedish defence will most likely contain Mikael Lustig, Olof Mellberg, Andreas Granqvist and Martin Olsson. Andreas Isaksson will certainly be the first choice goalkeeper.

Anders Svensson and Football Manager legend Kim Kallstrom will play the deep-lying midfield roles, allowing Ola Toivonen, Sebastian Larsson and Rasmus Elm to play off the incomparible Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

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