Team colours
Sweden:Yellow shirt, yellow shorts and yellow socks.
Paraguay:Red and white shirt, blue shorts and blue socks.

The story so far
Paraguay made little impression on England, with captain Carlos Gamarra’s early own goal determining the course of a somewhat lacklustre match. Yet, despite this and the subsequent loss of their goalkeeper to injury, the South Americans remain confident that they can wrest all three points from Sweden.

Paraguayan hopes rest largely on the shoulders of striker Roque Santa Cruz, back in the team after a three-month injury-enforced absence. Though clearly not yet at full match fitness, the Bayern Munich striker raised hopes by playing the full 90 minutes against England.


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Lars Lagerback’s Sweden, meanwhile, possess an awesome attacking duo in the shape of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Henrik Larsson , but neither brought their shooting boots to the match against T&T. It is unlikely to be any easier against a Paraguay team who, on paper at least, are more formidable opponents than the Caribbean newcomers.

The duel
Swedish fans will be waiting to see what their formidable trio of Ibrahimovic, Larsson and midfielder Freddie Ljunberg can do against a Paraguayan team that includes experienced central defenders Gamarra and Julio Cesar Caceres. All five players will be seeking redemption this Thursday. The Scandinavians will want to show the world the power of their attack, while the Albirroja will be aiming to live up to their country’s reputation for tenacious defending.

Past meetings
The only time that Sweden and Paraguay have met in the FIFA World Cup was in the first round of Brazil 1950, when they drew 2-2 in a first-round match. More recently, on 17 May 2002, they played again in a FIFA World Cup warm-up match in Stockholm, an encounter which Paraguay won 2-1.

What they said
Lars Lagerback (SWE): We hope that we’ll turn the tide against Paraguay and that we’ll find our form. We’re in a difficult situation and we urgently need a win. We have to find our spark again and overcome this initial setback.
Anibal Ruiz (PAR): Sweden are a team to be reckoned with. We know what they’re like. They played a good match and the result against Trinidad and Tobago doesn’t tell the whole story. But I think we can get the better of them. Sweden are on the same level as us.

A very tough match... I'd say Sweden 1:0