Group C is fast approaching a great climax, and the Republic of Ireland will not be adopting a defensive approach to the game according to Sweden manager Erik Hamren. Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni used a very defensive tactics against Sweden when the two teams met each other earlier in the qualification campaign. This led to a boring 0-0 draw between the two teams, but Hamren thinks that the fans could be given a spectacle of attacking football because both teams need to win. It was not good enough for both teams and this could propel them into playing an attacking style of football.

Sweden will undoubtedly be the favourites to get victory from the match due to the presence of PSG striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who is regarded as one of the best strikers in the world. Ireland will want to give manager Trapattoni a resounding send off. He is widely believed to be on his last few matches as the manager of Ireland. Germany are on course to winning the group, which leaves the likes of Sweden and Austria to fight for the second and final qualification spot. Both teams are very close to each other with only a couple of points separating them.

Hamren has stated that he wants three points from this match despite this being an away encounter.

“I expect a different kind of match to the one in Stockholm, a more open game. I hope we’ll be able to find the space in behind them to play the ball into. They (Ireland) will hopefully open up a little more, opening up space for us, but then that means we’ll have it a little more difficult defensively. Underestimating? You can forget that. That never happens at this level. Maybe in a friendly, but not in a competitive game,” said Hamren.