Beat Sweden or go home for Argentina

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NARAHA, Japan (AP) -- The inquest is over, and Argentina must now deliver against Sweden.

Anything less than a victory on Wednesday means the pre-tournament favorite will suffer the humiliation of a first-round elimination, its first in 40 years.

It's an unthinkable scenario for a star-studded squad that sailed through South America's qualifiers. Undefeated in two years, Argentina's feeling of invincibility grew as it traveled to Italy and Germany and came away with victories.

But Friday's 1-0 defeat against England visibly stung the team. For large parts of the game, the Argentines -- who insist they deserved at least a draw -- were outplayed and outthought.

But they now seem to have recovered their confident swagger _ and added a steely resolve. Some are even allowing themselves the luxury of imagining a possible rematch with England in the semifinals.

"We've been analyzing our weaknesses and we've found areas where we must improve," said Valencia midfielder Pablo Aimar. "But the team is fine, and our thoughts are only on winning. We still want to go all the way to the final."

Forward Ariel Ortega said Argentina was "angered" by the England defeat, and hopes it will serve as a wake-up call.

"We've waited a long time for this World Cup, and the next one is four years away. That seems like a life time to me," he said.

"We need to double our efforts, but I am convinced we will win. It will be 2-0."

The Swedes are top of Group F and a point will be enough for them to advance to the second round. England, which faces Nigeria, also only needs a point against Nigeria, which is already knocked out.

Argentina expects Sweden to play defensively. But that's an alien concept to the attack-minded Henrik Larsson and Fredrik Ljungberg.

"It's very difficult to go out and just play for a draw," said Ljungberg, the Arsenal midfield star. "I think we're going to play our game and of course try to score."

Larsson, Europe's top goalscorer last season with 35 Scottish league goals for Celtic, says the Swedes will be the more relaxed team. He hit two goals in Sweden's 2-1 win over Nigeria.

"Of course the pressure is on Argentina -- we've never felt any pressure in these World Cup finals," he said. "We've been the underdogs from the start in this group."

Sweden's only injury worry continues to be captain Patrik Andersson, who is struggling to shake off a groin strain and is unlikely to play Wednesday.

Argentina looks like being without skipper Roberto Ayala, who injured his thigh in the warmup minutes before Argentina's opening 1-0 win over Nigeria and has yet to make an appearance.

Coach Marcelo Bielsa must again choose who to play as central striker. Gabriel Batistuta was replaced by Hernan Crespo in the second half against England, but both were largely ineffective.

Aimar's impressive second-half performance in that match looks to have forced him into the starting lineup -- perhaps in the attacking midfield role previously occupied by captain Juan Sebastian Veron.

A subdued Veron was pulled off at half time against England and Bielsa on Sunday tried him out in a deeper midfielder role in a reserve match. That could mean he replaces veteran Diego Simeone, or even starts on the bench. Forward Claudio Caniggia, who has recovered from a long-term knee injury, could also be a substitute.

Aimar, whose precocious skills came the closest to unlocking England's tight defense, said Argentina was working to improve its crosses, which are vital to its game plan. Bielsa plays two attacking wingers who support one striker.

"We've struggled against tall defenders who have cleared our crosses," he said. "We expect Sweden to be defensive like England and it's up to us to break them down.

"But we have the tools to win this match."

Ortega said that "the clock could be our worst enemy."

"We need to be patient but everyone will see that Argentina is best when under pressure. We'll show fighting spirit, but also play good football."

Possible lineups:

ARGENTINA: Pablo Cavallero, Mauricio Pochettino, Walter Samuel, Diego Placente, Juan Sebastian Veron, Javier Zanetti, Juan Pablo Sorin, Ariel Ortega, Pablo Aimar, Claudio Lopez, Gabriel Batistuta.

SWEDEN: Magnus Hedman, Olof Mellberg, Johan Mjallby, Tobias Linderoth, Niclas Alexandersson, Anders Svensson, Fredrik Ljungberg, Marcus Allback, Henrik Larsson, Andreas Jakobsson, Teddy Lucic.