Sweden's lethal attackers are among the world's best

	Striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic is one of the best pure scorers in the world, and at only age 24, is getting better with every match. Stuart Franklin/Getty Images
	RELATED • World Cup team profiles complete archive • Full '06 World Cup draw and schedule

By Jon Pickstone and Ben Franklin, SI.com

Over the next four months, SI.com will profile two World Cup teams a week. We continue with Sweden. Click here for the full archive.

FIFA world ranking: No. 16.

How they qualified for Germany: Finished second to Croatia in UEFA Group 8 with an 8-0-2 record, securing one of Europe's two best runners-up spots. The Swedes had the second-highest goal difference of any European team, scoring an average of three goals per game.

Previous World Cups: 10 appearances (1934, 1938, 1950, 1958, 1970, 1974, 1978, 1990, 1994, 2002). Runners up in '58, third in '50 and '94.

Manager: Lars Lagerbäck, second year as sole head coach (was joint manager with Tommy Soderbergh from 2000 to '04).

Key players

The exhilarating Zlatan Ibrahimovic was only 20 when he appeared in the Swedish '02 World Cup squad. His frequent spectacular goals have seen him likened to Dutch legend Marco van Basten. That Juventus paid $19 million for his services in 2004 is a mark of his quality, and his pedigree was further underlined when he won the club's player of the season award. Ibrahimovic helped guide Juve to the Italian championship in 2005 after having helped Ajax Amsterdam to the Dutch title in both '02 and '04.

Old standby Fredrik Ljungberg perhaps isn't quite the player he was one or two years ago, but at 28, Arsenal's attacking midfielder still chips in with his share of goals. Ljungberg has the knack of finding himself space from which to attack the goal and, unusually for such a penetrating midfielder, is also strong in the tackle. Following his scantily clad Calvin Klein campaign, he's also a hot shot with the ladies.

What to watch for

If strikers Ibrahimovic and Henrik Larsson are healthy, Sweden will have one of the most potent attacks at the World Cup. England head coach (and native Swede) Sven-Göran Eriksson said in December, "If Zlatan Ibrahimovic goes on like he does at the moment, he will be the best in the world." Meanwhile Larsson -- although plagued by injury at Barcelona -- was Scotland's leading scorer multiple times during his years at Celtic, and was the top scorer in all of Europe in 2001. The potent forward was voted both as a member of Celtic's all-time team and the best Swedish player of the past 50 years.

Group: B (England, Paraguay, Trinidad & Tobago)

Key match in group stage: June 20 vs. England. This is a potentially huge game that will probably decide the winner of Group B. No team wants to be the runners-up because in the second round, it will face the winner of Group A -- probably host and major world power Germany. This showdown is a repeat of a clash between the two teams in the '02 World Cup, which ended in a 1-1 draw. Sweden went on to win the group over England based on goal differential. Having lost only once to England in 11 outings, the Swedes will be fancying their chances of winning the group.

Oddsmakers' line: 28-1.