Jun. 2, 2006 - Freddie cool on England hopes

Swedish star Fredrik Ljungberg believes England's World Cup hopes will be hit hard if Wayne Rooney is ruled out of the competition.

Rooney is set for a crucial scan at the start of next week and the results will give an indication as to whether he will be able to take part in Germany this summer.

The striker is still confident of being given the green light, but Manchester United are remaining cautious and Ljungberg feels his absence would hit England hard.

With doubts also persisting over Michael Owen's fitness, Ljungberg is looking for Sweden to take advantage in Group B.

"They have great players but any team would struggle without their best players," the Arsenal man told the Daily Mirror.

"We have a great record against England and will give them a hard game - but it will be even harder after the Group stages.

"They have great midfielders but the winners will have to have great strikers too and they would miss Rooney and Owen."

Ljungberg too is feeling his way back to fitness and he will test his foot injury during Sweden's friendly with Chile on Friday.

The midfielder struggled with the foot complaint towards the end of last season, but is confident of being fit for the group opener with Trinidad & Tobago and will start Friday's friendly.

May. 31, 2006 - Ljungberg joins Swedish squad for training

Sweden and Arsenal midfielder Fredrik Ljungberg has fought off a foot injury to take part in his first training session with his country's World Cup squad on Wednesday, the Swedish Football Association said.
Ljungberg jogged during training with teammates in Stockholm, according to the Swedish FA.  The midfielder was the only member of the Swedish team absent from two recent training sessions, as he underwent rehabilitation exercises on his injured right foot.
"My foot feels great," Ljungberg said after training. "Unfortunately I've been in the gym, which I hate," Ljungberg added.
Ljungberg will be available for Sweden's World Cup warm-up match against Chile this Friday, Sweden's coach Lars Lagerbäck said.
"If all goes to plan, he will play. The rest (period) has been perfect for him," Lagerbäck added.
The 29-year-old revealed last week that his battle against injury includes having blood drained from his foot after every match.
Ljungberg has been plagued by a string of injuries to his hip, calf, shoulder, rib, hand and toe since Sweden's second round defeat by Senegal at the 2002 World Cup.

May. 24, 2006 - Ljungberg advised to rest

Arsenal midfielder Fredrik Ljungberg could miss Sweden's three Group B games at the World Cup because of a foot injury, according to national team doctor Anders Valentin.

The Gunners star is definitely out of Thursday's friendly international against Finland and the June 2 clash with Chile but Valentin has advised the midfielder to also miss the games in Germany against Trinidad & Tobago, Paraguay and England."He would need to rest for four weeks to completely recover," Valentin told Swedish public television SVT.

"He might not be completely without symptoms (at the finals)."

Coach Lars Lagerback has also opted to rest Barcelona striker Henrik Larsson for the warm-up friendly against Finland. Central midfielder Teddy Lucic is also likely to miss the game with a groin injury.

May. 17, 2006 - Ibrahimovic, Ljungberg And Larsson Add Class To Swedish Squad

Top stars Fredrik Ljungberg of Arsenal, Zlatan Ibrahimovic of Juventus and Henrik Larsson of Barcelona were the standouts in the Swedish 23-man squad named Tuesday for the World Cup finals in Germany. 
"Henrik Larsson is unique and can play in any position, on the midfield or as a forward," Swedish coach Lars Lagerback said, adding that the 34-year-old was "improving with age."
Lagerback predicted Ibrahomovic would be "better than in Portugal" in Euro 2004, and said Ljungberg has "a great eye for football."
Goalkeeper Andreas Isaksson, 24, of Stade Rennes was a given starter, Lagerback said. His backups were John Alvbage, 23, of Danish side Viborg, and Isaksson's former rival Rami Shabaan of Norwegian club Fredrikstad. The 30-year-old has also played for Arsenal.
Prolific striker Marcus Allback, who over the weekend won the Danish league with FC Copenhagen, was included as backup to Larsson and Ibrahimovic.
"He is a great goalscorer," Lagerback said of Allback.
Lagerback's main headache has been the defence line but he selected foot-injured Erik Edman of Stade Rennes.
Lagerback said he was "confident" that Edman would be fit and ready to train at maximum in a week.
Other defenders included team captain Olof Mellberg, 28, of Aston Villa who has had a "problematic spring season," but Lagerback praised Mellberg's qualities as a team leader.
Defender Mikael Nilsson of Panathinaikos made a comeback to the national side. Another surprise choice was Goteborg's 22-year-old defender Karl Svensson.
Lagerback dropped Alexander Ostlund of English first division side Southampton.
Although the squad only included seven defenders, Lagerback said he could rely on veteran midfielder Niclas Alexandersson of IFK Goteborg to double as a defender.
Six of the 23 players have not previously played in a major international tournament.
Lagerback said it was "easy to select 15, 16 players," and that the choice had been toughest regarding goalkeepers and defenders.
"After Sweden qualified, we have studied their performance on the national side and how they have faired in their clubs," 57-year-old Lagerack said, adding that while some of the players were young they were "selected on merits but may be future key players."
Lagerback also listed nine players for standby in Sweden, including veteran goalkeeper Bengt Andersson, 39, of IFK Goteborg.
The final squad list of 23 must be handed in at the world governing body FIFA by May 15. Sweden play in Group B with England, Paraguay and Trinidad and Tobago.
Provisional squad
Goalkeepers: Andreas Isaksson (Stade Rennes), John Alvbage (Viborg), Rami Shaaban (Fredrikstad).
Defenders: Erik Edman (Stade Rennes), Petter Hansson (Heerenveen), Teddy Lucic (BK Hacken), Olof Mellberg (Aston Villa), Mikael Nilsson (Panathinaikos), Fredrik Stenman (Bayer Leverkusen), Karl Svensson (IFK Goteborg).
Midfielders: Niclas Alexandersson (IFK Goteborg), Daniel Andersson (Malmo FF), Kim Kallstrom (Stade Rennes), Tobias Linderoth (FC Copenhagen), Fredrik Ljungberg (Arsenal), Anders Svensson (Elfsborg), Christian Wilhelmsson (Anderlecht).
Forwards: Marcus Allback (FC Copenhagen), Johan Elmander (Brondby), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Juventus), Mattias Jonson (Djurgarden), Henrik Larsson (Barcelona), Markus Rosenberg (Ajax).