EURO 2008 INFO

Stockholm -Sweden's 23-strong squad for the Euro 2008 finals is taking form in the minds of team coach Lars Lagerback and his deputy Roland Anderssson as the May 13 announcement date approaches. The two coaches, who have worked together since 2004, said Tuesday that 15, 16 players were more or less selected.

Since the autumn, they have worked with a 30-strong shortlist of players for the squad that takes on reigning European champions Greece, Spain and Russia in June.

Concerning knee-injured forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Lagerback said "we hope he will have recovered" but would have to wait and see.

The Inter striker is currently undergoing rehab training on his knee with his former Swedish club Malmo FF, and Lagerback said "we know Zlatan wants to get well."

Another key player who is recovering from injury is midfielder Tobias Linderoth, but he was "well on the mend," Lagerback said.

During a joint interview session with reporters, Lagerback and Andersson listened carefully to each others remarks, underlining that they share the same philosophy and outlook on football.

"You have to have done your work before the match," Andersson said, expressing scepticism over coaching from the bench as a means of turning around a game.

"You have to prepare the players for various options so they know what to do," Andersson added, while Lagerback quietly nodded his head.

Lagerback, 59, mentioned that their one major disagreement likely occurred away to Northern Ireland during the qualifications when he made a substitution that Andersson disagreed with.

"I think I made a mistake, and got too emotional," Lagerback said.

Sweden's two top goalkeepers Andreas Isaksson of Manchester City and Rami Shaaban of Sweden's Hammarby are currently not starters, which concerns the two coaches.

Lagerback said that both goalkeepers had "strong psyches" and were good at practice and would get extra drills to prepare them.

Both coaches said Spain had a very strong team, and they were familiar with the Spanish tactics after the recent qualifications for the Euro 2008 finals.

Lagerback noted that "Spain can field two teams" with its squad while "Sweden is extremely reliant on six, seven players."

But while lacking in terms of stars, the Swedish team has "a system the players understand," Lagerback underlined, adding that the Swedish football model has to a large extent been built on team spirit rather than individual stars.