Gerrard confident of taming Sweden

Steven Gerrard said a similar performance that saw England draw with France ‘should’ see them beat Sweden at Euro 2012.

The Three Lions take on Erik Hamren’s side on Friday, knowing that a win will be needed to keep their chances of advancing to the quarter-final stage alive.

Sweden currently sit bottom of Group D following their 2-1 loss to co-hosts Ukraine, and the England captain was assured when discussing his next opponents.

“They’re a good side, but they’re not France. If we reach the same level of performance, it should be enough for a victory,” Gerrard told reporters.

“I’m really happy with the start we’ve made to this tournament. I’m confident we can get to four points after this game.”

Gerrard went on to praise Sweden striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who scored 35 goals for AC Milan last season and opened the scoring for his country on Monday.

But the 32-year-old was sure to point out that the tall forward was not the only threat Sweden possess.

“On his day, he (Ibrahimovic) is very dangerous,” the Liverpool captain said.

“We need the same level of commitment defensively. We’ve watched some videos of him and we’ll watch more, but he’s not the only player they have. They get a lot of crosses in and are very dangerous.”