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The third Euro 2004 quarterfinal will be played today at the Algarve stadium, which hosts 30 thousand spectators. The match, as usual, will start at 21:45 Lithuanian time. The referee will be Luboš Michel from Slovakia. Portugal is already waiting for the winner of these matches, as they will be their opponent in the semi-finals. In the other semi-final, Greece will play the winner of the Denmark-Czech Republic match. After twenty-one years, when these teams last played against each other, the Netherlands and Sweden meet in the European Championship quarterfinals. In 1983, Sweden was significantly stronger and crushed their opponents 3-0, but this time, as the teams take the field, few will care about it. Many expect open and beautiful matches with lots of goals, as the teams with the biggest talents playing in the attacking line: the Swedes have Larsson, Ibrahimovic, Ljungberg, while the Dutch have Van Nistelrooy, Robben, Makaay, Van der Meyde, and many others. So defenders, referred to as the weaker link, will have a lot of work in both teams. Sweden started the tournament with an impressive 5-0 victory against Bulgaria, followed by a hard-fought draw with Italy, where Ibrahimovic scored a rare beauty goal. In the last group matches, the Swedes saved themselves from defeat against their neighbors Denmark in the penultimate minute. Thus, they not only dashed Italy's hopes but also secured the first place in the group, allowing them to face a slightly weaker opponent in the quarterfinals. In defense, Sweden will be missing Erik Edman, who is suspended for one game due to two yellow cards. In the other defensive position, Teddy Lucic may also be missing. If he doesn't recover from injury in time, he will be replaced by Alexander Östlund. Jonson, who plays in the safe line alongside Svensson, the returning Linderoth after suspension, and one of the team's leaders Ljungberg, is expected to start in the lineup. One of Sweden's two coaches, Lars Lagerback, wants a fast and active start: "In all our previous matches, we started the first half slowly but dominated the second. Maybe it will be the same against the Dutch, but I would like us to control the ball more from the start." Team captain Olof Mellberg is confident in his team's abilities: "I think the fact that we passed the group stage means that there is less pressure on us. Knockout rounds have a different kind of pressure, preparation is different. I am confident that we are ready to accomplish the task." The Dutch national team started the championship worse than their opponents today. A draw with Germany is not a bad result, but the team's play was lackluster. Later, leading by two goals, the Dutch managed to lose to the Czechs. This meant that in the last round, they not only had to beat the Latvians but also hope for favorable results in other matches. The Latvians were defeated easily, and in the other match, the Czechs defeated the Germans and opened the way for the Dutch to the quarterfinals. Dutch coach Dick Advocaat received a lot of criticism, for whom today will be his 54th match coaching the national team. He had to choose from many famous names in the attacking line, but one thing Advocaat definitely did right was allowing Van Nistelrooy to play, who has already scored four times in the tournament. It is true that the player missed training yesterday, but today he should be able to perform on the field. He will be supported from the left by Robben and from the right by Van der Meyde. The only change Advocaat might make in the middle of defense is to let the experienced Frank de Boer play instead of the injured Bouma. In the right defensive position, Reiziger, who most likely appeared against the Latvians, will play, although Heitinga, who served a suspension, could also return. Dutch attacking leader Ruud van Nistelrooy expects a lot of hard work: "They (Swedes) are currently playing the best football in the tournament, their forwards are in great form and have scored many goals. We have to make sure we control them." "All players in the Dutch team are relaxed, and we all know exactly what we are doing. Sweden will be strong opponents... but in the quarterfinals, there are no weak teams, and they will also be concerned about playing against us," said defender Phillip Cocu. Predicted starting lineups: Netherlands (4-3-2-1): Van der Sar; Reiziger, De Boer, Stam, Van Bronckhorst; Seedorf, Davids, Cocu; Van der Meyde, Robben; Van Nistelrooy. Sweden (4-4-2): Isaksson; Nilsson, Jakobsson, Mellberg, Lucic; Jonson, Svensson, Linderoth, Ljungberg; Ibrahimovic, Larsson.
