Sweden

The tiny Scandinavian country of Sweden is rich in footballing tradition having

been the semi-finalists at the 1938 and 1994 finals, winning Olympic football gold in 1948 and being the runners-up to Brazil at home in 1958.

For a team that won eight of its 10 Group 8 matches and averaged three goals a game letting just four in return, qualifying for the FIFA World Cup in Germany was just a formality.

Sweden lost just two games, both against Croatia, and booked their ticket to gGermany as one of the two best runners-up in European qualifying.

Forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who scored seven goals, was instrumental in Sweden securing the berth for Germany 2006.

The Swedes topped their group at Korea/Japan 2002 that included England and Argentina.

After a poor showing at UEFA Euro 2004, one of their coach Tommy Soderbergh quit leaving Lars Lagerback in sole charge.

Lagerback's team boasts of a good attacking lineup that includes Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Fredrik Ljungberg and Henrik Larsson.

The other key players are skipper Olof Mellberg and winger Christian Wilhelmsson.