EURO 2016 TEAM PREVIEW: GROUP E - SWEDEN

Tip: Early exit

Cult hero: How can you not be a cult hero with a name like Pontus Wernbloom! The CSKA Moscow hardman takes no prisoners in the centre of the park and allows the more creative players to flourish around him. If you want someone to wind up the oppo too to gain that little extra, look no further.

Star player: Zlatan Ibrahimovic has taken football to another level in his career. He would be deified even more if Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo hadn’t been playing in the same era. The fearsome striker possesses a divine touch that embarrasses the most assured of defenders, while his all-round finishing is so lethal that goalkeepers barely get a look in. You know when you’ve been Zlattaned.

Player to watch: Should the unthinkable happen and Zlatan doesn’t run rings around their group opponents, Emil Forsberg is a classy alternative back in the Swedish midfield. Key to cash rich RB Leipzig’s Bundesliga promotion, Forsberg combines a fleet turn of foot with a keen eye for an incisive pass cutting in from the left that can unlock defences. He knows where the goal is too. Bonus.

How they qualified: An embarrassing 4-1 reverse at home to Austria all but did their Group G automatic qualification chances in, however they recovered down the stretch to earn a playoff place against fierce rivals Denmark. Zlatan’s three clinical goals across the two legs proved the difference.

Line-up prediction: Isaksson, Lustig, Lindelof, Granqvist, Olsson, Durmaz, Hiljemark, Kallstrom, Forsberg, Berg, Ibrahimovic