Can Sweden take down Portugal in the hotly anticipated first leg of the World Cup qualifiers? Here are a few reasons to believe that the Swedes can pull off the upset.
Road Prowess
Portugal was impressive at home in a relatively easy group but Sweden was dynamic on the road in what was arguably one of the more difficult groups in the tournament. The team finished with a record of three wins, one draw and one loss away from Sweden. The most impressive result was the lone draw. In that game the team fell behind 4-0 against the mighty Germans and battled back to earn one point in a 4-4 draw. That game took place a year ago, but still managed to be a major turning point for the team's qualification hopes. Moreover, 10 of the team's 19 goals scored came on the road.
Tougher Trials
Portugal had to get through Russia, Azerbaijan, Israel, Northern Ireland and Luxembourg to get to this stage; one could argue that Portugal should have cruised through that group. Meanwhile, Sweden had to battle through Germany, Austria, Ireland, Faroe Islands and Kazakhstan. The latter two are far from impressive but the other three sides are strong contenders to get out of the group. Germany finished first but Austria and Ireland both gave Sweden scares. This team has shown its quality by just getting through this group and should be feeling confident about getting through yet another challenging foe.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Cristiano Ronaldo is on fire but so is Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The Swedish superstar knows that his star has grown in recent weeks and will likely look to continue getting more praise for a heroic performance. He knows that a potential Ballon d'Or vote is at stake with this matchup with Ronaldo and, let's face it, Ibrahimovic has always enjoyed getting individual attention. He will rise to the occasion and pull off a terrific performance.
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