adminMONTPELLIER. — He terrorised opposition defences in the Ialian Serie A for seven seasons, but Zlatan Ibrahimovic will face stiff resistance to his efforts to rescue Sweden’s Euro 2016 soccer campaign against Italy today.
“Zlatan can put a whole team under pressure just by himself, but we have to concentrate on our own game… and try to limit their strengths,” Lazio winger Antonio Candreva said.
After a frustrating 1-1 draw with Republic of Ireland in which Ibrahimovic failed to sparkle despite playing a decisive role in Ciaran Clark’s late own goal, the Swedes are under pressure ahead of today’s Group E clash in Toulouse.
A defeat would leave the Scandinavians needing to beat Belgium, ranked number two in the world, in their last group game and hope they get among the four best third-placed group finishers to sneak into the last 16.
Sweden coach Erik Hamren is already dubious.
“Even though we managed to come back and equalise, I am disappointed. We will need to play at 300 percent to get through,” he said after their opening draw. Sweden will really need the talents of Ibrahimovic, their talisman for many seasons..
One of the most feared strikers in the world, Ibrahimovic’s ability to produce moments of goalscoring magic have delighted fans for the past decade.
Today’s European Championship Fixtures
Group D: Czech Rep v Croatia (6pm); Spain v Turkey (9pm).
Group E: Italy v Sweden (3pm). — AFP.
Online Reporter