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Updated Friday June 2, 2000
Spain told to enjoy Sweden friendly
By Per Danielson

GOTHENBURG, June 2 (Reuters) - Spanish coach Jose Antonio Camacho has told his players to go out and enjoy themselves in Saturday's friendly against Sweden as they embark upon what they hope will be a month-long quest for European glory.

The Spanish squad left their training camp in Valencia on Friday for Gothenburg and the first of two warm-up matches ahead of the European Championship finals.

After Saturday's game they go on to their base in the Netherlands before another friendly in Luxembourg on Wednesday.

And Camacho is doing his best to keep the pressure off his players before the serious business gets underway with group C matches against Norway, Slovenia and Yugoslavia.

"These friendly matches are very different from the European Championship matches themselves," Camacho reminded all those who are expecting more of the same blistering form that saw Spain qualify for the tournament as one of the top seeds.

"It's important for the players now to show the same enjoyment that they have in training this past week. They've done very well here and I'm not worried about anything."

Spain have had a couple of injury scares in the past week, with Raul Gonzalez and Fernando Hierro only now nearing full fitness.

Both are likely to figure at some stage over the two friendly games but Camacho is unlikely to play them from the start against Sweden.

Camacho has offered few hints over his line-up for the Sweden game but Real Madrid's 19-year-old goalkeeper Iker Casillas needs to make his international debut sooner rather than later and Gothenburg could be the scene of his first start.

Valencia midfielder Gerard Lopez is also likely to get his first taste of international football at some stage against the Swedes.

The Swedish defence, which conceded only one goal in qualifying, will prove a tough test for Spain's exciting attack. Sweden's target for the match might be merely to avoid any further injuries.

Stefan Schwarz, Pontus Kamark and Andreas Andersson have all missed out, although there is better news over Celtic striker Henrik Larsson and Arsenal midfielder Fredrik Ljungberg.

Larsson was named in the squad this week after recovering from a broken leg and seems certain to take some part in the match, although a full game looks unlikely.

Ljungberg has recovered from a rib injury and is a probable starter.

Swedish coaching duo Tommy Soderberg and Lars Lagerback, worried about their side's recent lack of firepower, are likely to try pairing Kennet Andersson with rising star Jorgen Pettersson who scored the only goal when Sweden beat Denmark 1-0 in a recent friendly.

Possible teams:
Sweden: Magnus Hedman; Olof Mellberg, Patrik Andersson, Joachim Bjorklund, Teddy Lucic; Niclas Alexandersson, Daniel Andersson, Johan Mjallby, Fredrik Ljungberg; Kennet Andersson, Jorgen Pettersson.
Spain: Iker Casillas, Michel Salgado, Ivan Helguera, Abelardo Fernandez, Agustin Aranzabal; Pep Guardiola, Gerard Lopez, Fran Gonzalez, Joseba Etxeberria; Pedro Munitis, Ismael Urzaiz.

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