Sweden finding long lost belief ahead of Switzerland clash

After reaching the 1994 World Cup semi-finals, Swedish football stumbled, despite impressive players like Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Henrik Larsson. Now, without an established star, they are starting to believe again. Despite impressively topping Group F ahead of Mexico, reigning champions Germany and South Korea, few outside Sweden expect the Scandinavians to survive much longer at the World Cup.
That is even considering their place in the apparently easier half of the draw, where Spain and England are the only former World Cup winners. OnTuesday they face Switzerland in St Petersburg. With the winners facing a quarter-final clash against Colombia or England, it's an inviting path towards the Moscow final.
There is a quiet confidence brewing in Sweden, with fans starting to believe Janne Andersson's team is performing at a level it has not achieved since 1994. In the United States the Swedes went on a barnstorming run to the semi-finals, drawing with Cameroon and Brazil in their group and beating Russia, before seeing off Saudi Arabia and Romania in the knock-out rounds.
Eventually their dream was cut short by Brazil, with Romario's 80th minute strike seeing the South Americans edge through. In the years afterwards Sweden enjoyed the quality of talented individuals such as Freddie Ljungberg and Henrik Larsson, but failed to achieve much of note. They failed to qualify for the 1998 World Cup finals in France, failed to get beyond the last 16 in 2002 and 2006, before again not reaching the 2010 and 2014 tournaments.
That is despite the presence of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, widely considered the best Swedish footballer of all time. The forward, who wanted to fight his way into the squad for this year's tournament in Russia, was known both for his spectacular play on the pitch and his ego off it. But even without him Ibrahimovic now believes his country can go on to win the tournament.
"I said before the World Cup they'll go far and they'll probably win it," the LA Galaxy striker said after they reached the last 16. "I'm very proud to be Swedish, driving around with a Swedish flag. I took over the world, now Sweden are taking over the world." While Ibrahimovic's optimism that they can win it might be tongue in cheek, their 3-0 thumping of Mexico shows how hard work and commitment can drive a team onwards, even past star-studded sides.
"I'm so incredibly proud, almost moved, by the thought of how we performed in the match," said Andersson. Opponents Switzerland are not much fancied either but boast playmaker Xherdan Shaqiri, who scored an injury-time winner against Serbia which helped his country progress. They have not reached the quarter-finals since 1954 when they hosted the tournament, although with defenders Stephan Lichtsteiner and Fabian Schar suspended, they may find it tough to handle Red Bull Leipzig winger Emil Forsberg.
At the other end Cameroon-born forward Breel Embolo will be looking to find gaps in Sweden's rock-solid defence. "Sweden are a strong team but we will be very well prepared," Embolo told FIFA's website. "We'll give it our all to get to the quarter-finals. "Two years ago, we lost to Poland in the last 16 at the European Championship. We learned from that. "The fact we've been able to come from behind twice here in Russia shows we're ready for more."