Zlat start doubt for shootout in Seville
SWEDEN are staying quiet on Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s readiness for today’s decisive World Cup qualifier against Spain.
Manager Janne Andersson has dismissed all questions regarding his star striker’s availability and fitness for the crunch clash.
Sweden must beat Spain in Seville to qualify automatically for Qatar 2022 while a draw would be enough for their hosts to progress.
The runners-up will head to the play-offs.
Ibrahimovic, 40, played a full 90 minutes in Thursday’s 2-0 defeat by Georgia in Group B after featuring for AC Milan against Inter Milan in Serie A last weekend.
“We’ll see on Sunday how he feels but I have a pretty good idea already, although I won’t reveal it here because it could be a tactical advantage to our opponent,” Andersson told a press conference yesterday.
A third start in a week might be taking a chance given Ibrahimovic’s recent injury problems, which have seen him miss half of Milan’s games so far this season.
Andersson added: “His mindset is like always – he is here and 100 per cent with his team.
“There is no communication whatsoever with Milan about how we should use him or not. If he is fit to play, he will play.”
Meanwhile, 10-man Finland rekindled their hopes of reaching next year’s finals with a 3-1 win at Bosnia and Herzegovina in Group D.
Teemu Pukki had a penalty saved before setting up the opening goal for Marcus Forss.
The visitors had defender Jukka Raitala sent off but further goals from Robin Lod and Daniel O’Shaughnessy saw them home.
Luka Menalo grabbed a consolation for the hosts.
In Group G, Turkey smashed minnows Gibraltar 6-0 in Istanbul while Norway’s match with Latvia in Oslo ended goalless.
onfident that he already has at his disposal the core ingredients which an keep Newcastle in the top flight.
“I come from a club where, at the tart of the journey, we had very,
ery limited resources in terms of acilities and yet we had huge
uccess on the pitch,” said the former Bournemouth boss.
His achievements there included verturning a 17-point deficit to haul he Cherries off the foot of League Two midway through the 2008-09
eason before steering them to three promotions and an unprecedented place in the Premier League.
“So when it comes to success and acilities, the two things just do not
orrelate,” he added. “It is the work on the (training) pitch that is the important thing.
“All you need is grass, some balls and ideally some bibs and then you just have to go ahead and implement what you want to do.
“That’s not to say you don’t crave the best infrastructure and facilities and all the best things for your players.”
A hardy voice helps too. At his midweek unveiling at St James’ Park, Howe was already displaying the wear and tear of two intensive days shouting out instructions to his players.
Newcastle’s new head coach, however, has sufficient belief in his own abilities to believe he can haul the club out of the mire in 19th place in the Premier League, starting at home to Brentford on Saturday.
He is sufficiently grounded not to make rash promises when staying up is all that matters right now but Howe admits he looks forward to the day when the club is able to show off the fruits of its new-found wealth.
“I do know that football at the very highest level, you do need to treat players in a way that they expect,” he said.
“And you need to give them no excuses so that when they play on a Saturday, there is no reason why they underperform.”
Five-star treatment is for the future. In the meantime, it’s five-star football Howe is demanding.