Fagerlund: Can be utterly deadly

MejlaFrida Fagerlund+ FÖLJFagerlund: Can be completely deadly FOOTBALL

PARIS. So was the competition's group stage finally lottat.

But... Is there really someone who cares about group stage?

Sweden will go on, in this case it's just about how they do it.

”Saw Sweden strong in qualifying?”

the Question came from an anonymous person in live-chat at the same time as La Seine the Musical was down to come in the pomp-and-pageantry-á-la-Fifa-mood.

Yes, how worthy are we really, to be here, in the French capital, among fotbollsvärldens the crème de la crème? Try to look around after one of our neighbors among the special invitees at the front of the room and you have the answer (for you will not find it).

Despite the fact that Sweden's road to the hedged world CUP-the place consisted of a small vägbula away in the Ukraine was the victory against Denmark startlingly convincing. In a relatively short period of time, coach Peter Gerhardsson drillat this team into a hard and compact package that requires more than a creative världsanfallare to open.

It said U.S. head coach Jill Ellis when she summed up the Group F of the american press (and the lone swede) as exalterat flocked to hear what she had to say.

– Yes, but it's a good team, of course. Difficult to break down.

Just so.

Here we go again...

Peter Gerhardsson looked like walking on clouds. He constantly gives the impression of an almost annoying calm, confessed to a few butterflies appeared in my stomach when the fabled lottningsskålarna bars.

Up on the stage was Alex Scott and Louis Saha, two legendaries in two very different ways, but obviously competent enough to lead the a – usually dormant – Fifaiansk event with a bang.

And probably damn well we swedes didn't even had to get our first opponents in a spoken voice. It is of course always the united states.

the united states, Chile and Thailand.

In Rennes, where the rivers Ille and Vilaine flow together, is the start of the world CUP trip as a once and for all to clarify, this was the Swedish national team stands in the hierarchy these days.

Chile recently defeated Australia in a vänskapsmöte, deserves certainly respect for having reached the group stage, but, of course, be the three given points for Sweden.

Sydamerikanskorna is ranked 38 in the world by Fifa, and also if the like has a remarkably large part in football should this game only be played by for svenskornas part.

Thailand?

Next stop: Thailand. This time at the good Riviera in Nice.

Thailand... the Majority of the Swedish population has a semesterkoppling to Thailand. But when it comes to football, it stands still.

Manager, Nuengruethai Srathongvian, proved to be a very small lady who politely replied to the questions through their interpreter.

– It will be very fun, especially to meet Sweden. It is a force. So I can hardly wait. It will be a fun match, " said Srathongvian.

Very possible that it will be hilarious, but three points down in the Swedish bag.

Le Grande Finale in Le Havre

Then, we will proceed to Le Havre and Le Grande Finale, in all cases, the first of several. At present, there is namely nothing that speaks to Sweden miss to move on from the group stage, the idea does not exist even (there is even an extra life preserver, to go on as one of the best treorna).

The assumed final against the united states is likely to be more of a fair trial of strength than a ödesmatch, possibly a fight for better slutspelshalva.

Louis Saha said it briefly, in passing, and had it not been for the fact that we swedes are in the midst of a kind of reinkarnationsprocess had not understood the words as anything other than a foregone conclusion.

– Sweden, one of the toughest countries to meet, said the French former landslagsspelaren, as if it were the most obvious in the world.

of Course it is. Even if Peter Gerhardsson must, of course, say that they are comfortable with favoritskapet, they want to be segerkandidater, it feels like it actually is so.

Sweden will arrive to France next summer, well-informed, motivated and with an unshakable belief in themselves. The combination can be totally lethal.