Mellberg wary of England threat

By Nathan Mercer
BBC Sport in Gothenburg

Mellberg's experience will be key to Sweden's hopes

Sweden captain Olof Mellberg believes England are among the favourites to win the World Cup.

England meet Sweden in the final Group B game on 20 June.

And the Aston Villa captain told BBC Sport: "England are definitely the favourites for the group and even to win the World Cup.

"It will be a really tough game against them so we need to make sure we do well in the first two group games and take the pressure off the third game."

Paraguay and Trinidad and Tobago make up the rest of the group and Mellberg added: "England have a lot of good players to choose from and right the way through the team they have world-class players.

"They are strong all over the pitch and we really need to be on top of our game if we are to beat them."

We have to be very aware of Crouch - He is a very good player and it will be tough against him Sweden defender Teddy Lucic

Sweden coach Lars Lagerback refused to be despondent after his side's poor performance in the goalless draw against Finland on 25 May.

He said: "We wanted to make sure our defence was working as it should be and we were good there.

"It could have been better up front. With a bit of luck, Johan Elmander could have scored a couple of goals with his chances. We should really have won."

Former Leeds defender and Sweden international Teddy Lucic fears Peter Crouch's selection in England's line-up may cause problems for the Sweden defence.

He said: "We have to be very aware of Crouch. He is a great header of the ball and could cause us problems in the air. He is a very good player and it will be tough against him."

Finland coach Roy Hodgson believes there is plenty more to come from Sweden and said that Thursday's friendly was not a true reflection of Sweden's potential.

He said: "What you saw was only half of what England can expect to see in the World Cup. They were missing their three big players and will give England a good run."