SWEDEN FULLY FOCUSED

Friday 18 June 2004, 11:47

Sweden are adamant they will not be side-tracked by the Francesco Totti saga which has severely disrupted the Italian camp in the past 24 hours.

The two sides face each other on Friday in Porto and the Azzurri are reeling from the three-game suspension given to Totti by UEFA for spitting at Danish midfielder Christian Poulsen in their goalless draw earlier in the week.

Giovanni Trapattoni's men were already trying to pick themselves up after drawing a game that all of Italy had expected them to win and now the Totti crisis has piled even more pressure on them.

"We aren't bothered if Totti plays or not," said Sweden captain and Aston Villa defender Olof Mellberg.

"We will, as usual, be concentrated on our own way of playing and we are going to prepare as normal."

Everton's Tobias Linderoth is expected to start the game alongside Southampton's Anders Svensson, although having received a caution in the 5-0 victory of Bulgaria, he could miss the final game with Denmark if he is booked tonight.

Sweden's co-coach Tommy Soderberg was keen to stress it was the team approach and not individual flair which was needed to bring success in the European Championships.

"Everyone is working for each other,'' he said. "It's something that we always do."