France, England look for change of fortunes

sweden
 

- Ever since they lost the 1958 World Cup final on home soil to Brazil, Sweden have been punching above their weight in international football.

Somehow, this Scandinavian nation of almost nine and a half million people frequently manages to field teams that are more than the sum of their parts.

Drawn against Ukraine, England and France, the Swedes will bring their usual pragmatic game to Euro 2012 -- respectful of their opponents, but certainly not in awe of them.

Coach Erik Hamren maintains that his squad is ‘the best in the world at getting a result without changing the way we play’, but if his team are to realise their full potential he may have some tinkering to do.

Hamren favours a 4-2-3-1 system with AC Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic free to display the full range of his talents at the fulcrum of the attack.

The coach can call on two excellent goalkeepers in Andreas Isaksson (PSV Eindhoven) and Johan Wiland (FC Copenhagen).

In the centre, holding midfielders Anders Svensson and Kim Kallstrom are both excellent readers of the game, and both also possess a surgical passing ability and can split any defence.

There is no doubting Ibrahimovic's prodigious individual talent; the question is whether his team-mates can perform in his shadow or whether the old Swedish collective ideal is better suited to their skills.

ENGLAND
 

- England return to the European Championship after an eight-year-long absence with new manager Roy Hodgson hoping to improve on what is a woeful record in the finals for one of Europe’s traditional stronger soccer nations.

England are the only European country to have won the World Cup but never be crowned European champions and there are very few indicators suggesting that England's disappointing European record will improve this summer, thanks to a combination of factors.

Whether Hodgson, 64, named on May 1 as England’s new permanent manager following the departure of Fabio Capello in February, can bring success remains one of the many unanswered questions facing the Three Lions next month.

Typically for England though, the build-up has been blighted by injuries, with Frank Lampard, Gareth Barry and Gary Cahill all sidelined while Rio Ferdinand was ignored as Cahill’s replacement by Hodgson, who preferred Liverpool youngster Martin Kelly instead, provoking the first real row of his reign.

Manchester United striker Rooney, who has scored more than 30 goals for club and country so far this season, will be eligible to join the fray on June 19 when England play hosts Ukraine in Donetsk, which could well be their last game in the competition. There is no doubt that England's players, used to playing at the highest level week in week out in the Premier League with some of the world's biggest names, have the capacity to do well.

Hodgson at least, who has spent the last 15 months at West Bromwich Albion, does have previous international experience having coached the Switzerland, Finland and United Arab Emirates national sides in the past. But whether the player's potential, and Hodgson's knowledge, combine to produce success is unknown. 

Ukraine
 

- Huge support will take the edge off being among the underdogs when co-hosts Ukraine bid for glory at Euro 2012.

Coach Oleg Blokhin, who took over last April after two appointments that proved less than successful, said he has no illusions about their prospects.

"We have been set a task of winning the tournament," he said in an interview. "I have no idea where that comes from. Of course, you have to aim for that, but you also have to take a sober view of things.

"First of all, we have to qualify from the group."  Blokhin, a legendary striker for the old Soviet national team, took Ukraine to the World Cup quarterfinals in 2006 and is the most successful coach in Ukrainian soccer history. But Blokhin, 59, will have to work hard to weld a Ukrainian side of young talent and some experience into a team capable of holding their own.

Recent form exposed a weak and unbalanced defence and an attack in which most of the goal-scoring has come from midfielders, such as Andriy Yarmolenko, Oleh Gusev and Yevhen Konoplyanka, rather than the strikers.

On top of those problems, goalkeeper Oleksandr Rybka, who had been a certainty for Euro selection, is out after being banned by UEFA for two years having tested for a prohibited diuretic substance, delivering a blow to the host nation.

Ukraine's first European championship will also be a last chance to sparkle for 35-year-old icon Andriy Shevchenko. Team captain and all-time top-scorer, Shevchenko has been struggling with back problems since he left Chelsea in the hope of making an impact in Euro 2012.

France
 

- Despite a style of play that has not exactly filled the fans with enthusiasm, France go into the Euro 2012 finals as potential winners only two years after their World Cup fiasco.
A 2-1 win against Germany in Bremen in February stretched Les Bleus’ unbeaten run to 18 games as they showed they should definitely be a force to be reckoned with in June -- even though some of their performances in the qualifiers left something to be desired.
Although Laurent Blanc, who replaced Raymond Domenech as coach, has yet to find the perfect mix in midfield, he has probably found his central defence, with Philippe Mexes expected to partner Adil Rami, baring injuries.
Mexes has partnered with Valencia defender 10 times since the World Cup, in which France conceded only four goals, including two in Blanc's first outing, a 2-1 defeat against Norway.  But France's defensive record also owes a lot to cold-blooded keeper Hugo Lloris, who has been named captain after a string of perfect performances both with Olympique Lyon and Les Bleus.
Blanc's main concern may be the left flank, where Franck Ribery has been struggling to reproduce the form that made him an undisputed starter at Bayern Munich.
Up front, Blanc will be hoping that Karim Benzema will carry his Real Madrid form into the Euro finals.
He will also have, in Montpellier's Olivier Giroud, the Ligue 1 top scorer with 20 goals, and Olympique Marseille's Loic Remy, a couple of decent alternatives.