Ireland and Sweden meet in the Euro 2016 Group E opener at the Stade de France on Monday where a win would go a long way in redeeming their past failures in the championship and getting them to the knockout stage.
Drawn in a tough section with Belgium and Italy, a victory is of paramount importance to both sides.
“The team that wins this game has a very good chance of progressing,” Sweden coach Erik Hamren told Reuters recently.
Both teams also have a point to prove following dismal showings at Europe’s flagship tournament four years ago.
Ireland scored one goal and conceded nine to become the first team eliminated from Euro 2012, while the Swedes threw away the lead twice in losing their first two games, to Ukraine and England, packing their bags shortly after the Irish.
As ever, Sweden will rely on its enigmatic 34-year-old captain Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Ibrahimovic’s burgeoning partnership with winger Emil Forsberg is likely to cause problems down Ireland’s right flank, where full-back Seamus Coleman should be partnered by combative Jon Walters who seems to have got over an Achilles problem.
Walters is among the survivors from the Giovanni Trapattoni-led side that performed so dismally four years ago, and he will be keen to erase the memories.
“Ireland and ourselves are the underdogs in our group, and we’re quite close to one another in the rankings. With regard to who is going to win or lose, it’s quite open,” Hamren told Reuters.
With manager Martin O'Neill and his assistant Roy Keane in charge of Ireland, the clash is likely to be a physical battle but the Swedes are no shrinking violets and the high stakes ensure they will be ready for whatever the Irish throw at them.
