For the visitor to Beppu, a hot-spring resort on the Japanese island of Kyushu, one of the quirkier experiences available is burial up to your neck in hot sand.
When Lars Lagerback, as coach of , visited Kyushu during the 2002 FIFA World Cup™ finals, he did not get to try out the hot sands but in nearby Oita, at the Big Eye Stadium, he did sample something else entirely beyond his previous range of experience – defeat by the golden goal.
Henri Camara’s extra-time strike for Senegal against Sweden was – and the impression made by the suddenness of that defeat has stayed with Lagerback. “That was the first time I experienced that,” he tells FIFA. “I still can remember it. It was such a strange feeling that suddenly the game was over. It made it a little bit more disappointing, I think.”
Recollections of that Korea/Japan campaign have resurfaced this week for Lagerback, with Sweden facing the Samurai Blue in their final Group F fixture at on Friday. He holds positive memories of their stay in Japan, which began with a camp in Miyazaki, also on Kyushu, and a 1-1 draw with Japan in a pre-tournament friendly in Yokohama in what was the most recent meeting between the nations.
Sweden would go on to finish first in their group ahead of England, Argentina and Nigeria, before that dramatic 2-1 loss to Senegal in the last 16. “We had a good mix – players with good physical strength and some really good, more technical attacking players,” Lagerback recalls of a group captained by Johan Mjallby and containing attackers like Freddie Ljungberg and Henrik Larsson.
“But also, one very important thing in these kind of tournaments is the attitude and character, and we had a really strong team mentally,” adds Lagerback who would also lead Sweden to the Round of 16 at Germany 2006 before coaching Nigeria at the 2010 finals in South Africa.
As for today's Sweden, there have been questions raised about their substance after the 5-1 defeat by the Netherlands in their second fixture of this tournament. The fact it followed a 5-1 win against Tunisia six days earlier made it all the more arresting. And now they must face Japan, looking to avoid their first group-stage elimination on the world stage since 1990.
Lagerback believes it will not be easy for a Sweden side currently third in their section, a point behind both the Netherlands and Japan. Where 24 years ago he saw a "really well organised" World Cup on Japanese soil, now he says the same of their football team.
“For me, they play very good and effective football,” he says of . “They want to play fast and even if I think they’re a bit lacking in terms of strength, when it comes to speed and movement you can see it's a really, really well organised team. Their understanding of the game is absolutely excellent and I expect that Sweden will have a very, very tough game.”
Lagerback, Sweden coach from 2000-2009, reflects that this is a Sweden team who came to North America via a rocky path, qualifying via the play-offs following the appointment of Graham Potter. “They had really two tough years with the former head coach [Jon Dahl Tomasson] so you have a big question mark and then they had two bad friendlies [losing 3-1 to Norway and drawing 2-2 with Greece] and then they're suddenly playing well against Tunisia. But there was still a question mark, in my opinion.
“Also, it's always dangerous when you get a really, really good result as maybe you get a little bit naive and think you’re a little bit better than you are in the next game.”
If there has been debate in Sweden about Potter’s use of a back three, Lagerback focuses on a more basic detail. “Maybe now they can realise that if they don't stick together as a team – because they didn't do that against Netherlands – you can always lose. If you lose three, four, five per cent from your performance, then you lose against a good team when you play at this level. So I hope that they can go out and be a little bit more realistic and, above all, they must play better in defence to keep the team together and be more compact.
“They're letting in so many goals even since since Potter came back. That’s the key for the game against Japan now. If they don't put that together, unfortunately, I think they’ll lose.”
That said, he does see cause for optimism in the two men leading the line for the Blågult: strikers Viktor Gyokeres and Alexander Isak. “Sweden really have two good strikers," he affirms. "That's the most positive thing – we, Sweden, can always score. I think these two guys can do a lot and if you have a good defence behind them, then Sweden have a fair chance. But I think it will be tough.”
Sources: FIFA Official
