Andersson: 'Sweden embracing big occasion'
Sweden national coach Janne Andersson has insisted his squad are up to the challenge as they take on World Cup holders Germany on Saturday.
Sweden – who have not reached the round of 16 since 2006 – are on the verge of qualifying for the knockout phase – and a win would condemn Germany to a remarkable premature exit from the showpiece tournament.
"This is really what you spend entire life towards," Andersson said. "Not enjoying it because it's a tough job. We're going to make the most of it.
"Extraordinary to be involved in this and a match of this magnitude. Whether we knock them out is one thing, but we can qualify on our own which is quite extraordinary."
Andreas Granqvist, who scored the VAR-inspired penalty to sink South Korea 1-0, joined Andersson on the podium and basked in the scenario facing Sweden.
While acknowledging Germany's superiority, on paper anyway, the veteran centre-back said: "It's quite amazing. Germany were the big favourites ahead of the World Cup and we would be able to beat them so they wouldn't qualify for the next stage not many people would've imagined that."
"They've played a lot of Champions League matches and World Cup finals etc but we have played together for a two-year period," Granqvist continued.
"We've seen excelled results against better ranked teams. We're well abled to win these matches. They have a better team on paper but we will do our best to get a good result."