The only previous competitive meeting between these countries was
back in 1948 at the Men's Olympic Football Tournament in London. Sweden
triumphed 12-0 on that occasion!
Three more recent friendlies have ended with another Swedish win and two draws.
20:33
Alexandra Jonson
Swedish fans have made
their way to Nizhny Novgorod for tomorrow's match, enjoying the beauty
of the city and the Fan Zone. Some 6,500 Swedes are expected to be at
the stadium cheering for their country.
19:42
Elsewhere in the group
Watch highlights from the opening game of this group, which Mexico
won against champions Germany courtesy of a clinical strike by Hirving
Lozano.
18:59
Group F
MP
W
D
L
GF
GA
+/-
Pts
Mexico
1
1
0
0
1
0
1
3
Sweden
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Korea Republic
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Germany
1
0
0
1
0
1
-1
0
18:31
Mexico strike first in Group F
Group F got under way with Germany-Mexico today and it was the
CONCACAF side who landed the first blow in the section. Hirving Lozano's
breakaway blast proved enough to defeat the reigning champions and
opened up an opportunity for Sweden or Korea Republic to move clear of
the holders with a win on Monday.
Korea Republic captain
Ki Sungyueng is confident that his side's rich experience will be the
key to overcoming Sweden in this crucial encounter.
He said: "In
terms of experience on big stages, Korean players have the edge over
Swedish players. I'm not sure how many players in Sweden have taken part
in the World Cup, but we have many. We're fully prepared to take
advantage of our experiences when we face them on the pitch tomorrow."
17:10
16:30
A big miss?
Would Sweden have a bigger chance at reaching the next round with
this man around? It's been the subject of huge debate over the last few
months. Whatever the case, he's here!
Korea Republic coach
Shin Taeyong on facing more than 30,000 Swedish fans inside the stadium
tomorrow: "Our lads have lots of experiences on big stages around the
world. Even though the fans might be from Sweden, we'd think of them as
Korean fans cheering for us."
14:15
Alexandra Jonson
Sweden got used to the
forthcoming matchday surroundings by training at Nizhny Novgorod Stadium
this morning. "The stadium is fantastic and it's a really good pitch,"
said Granqvist.
13:59
promopost-panini-reminder
13:34
Alexandra Jonson
At both UEFA EURO 2012
and 2016, Sweden had a difficult start, failing to win their first match
of the tournament. However, they are expecting things to go differently
at this World Cup.
The captain, Andreas Granqvist, said: "We've worked a lot with
our sports psychology advisor Daniel Ekwall and learnt what is important
for us. It makes us ready for tomorrow. It feels like we have a trust
in this group with these players and staff that makes us more prepared
than we have been at earlier tournaments."
13:32
Alexandra Jonson
The big debate in the
Sweden camp ahead of the World Cup has been the lack of goals in their
matches leading up to the tournament.
Janne Andersson addressed
the subject during his press conference: "There are many different ways
to score and many different ways you can do it in our way of playing. We
have worked a little bit more on our attack now in the last few days
and I hope that tomorrow it will work and we will score."
13:28
Hounche Chung
Nizhny Novgorod Stadium is looking in good shape ahead of the big match tomorrow.
13:05
Korea Republic's match preview
Get the latest from the Korea Republic camp at their pre-match press conference.
13:00
Alexandra Jonson
We got an exclusive look at the shirt Sweden will wear during their match with Korea Republic on Monday, and it looks great!
11:30
The inspiration of 2002
When searching for inspiration at the FIFA World Cup, Korea Republic
will always look to their magnificent achievement in reaching the
semi-finals on home turf in 2002. Here is a look back at their exploits.
11:16
Press conference
Sweden coach Janne Andersson meets the press ahead of tomorrow's opener with Korea Republic.
10:00
Setting out their stall
Preparations are already underway to receive the Swedish fans in Nizhny Novgorod...
08:30
Did you know?
For the first time in their long history at the FIFA World Cup,
Sweden have brought a squad which does not feature a single player based
in their domestic league.
07:00
Matchday 4 - a preview
Matchday 4 is upon us! Two of the favourites take to the field for
the first time, and Costa Rica take on Serbia in Samara. Check out our
preview below.
06:00
24 hours to go
With kick-off between Sweden and Korea Republic only one day away,
take a look at our match preview ahead Monday's meeting at Nizhny
Novgorod Stadium
Be sure to get your predictions in, not only for Sweden-Korea
Republic but for Monday's other contests as well, not to mention all the
action from today during Matchday 4 also!
Miss out on any of the drama and goals on Matchday 3? Check out our review of all the action below.
02:15
Korea Republic photos
Korea Republic also took some time to take a few photos and as was
the case with their Swedish counterparts, the outcomes did not
disappoint!
01:05
Swedish glamour shots
The Scandinavian side stepped in front of the camera for their
official World Cup photos, but it's clear they had some fun in the
process. Check out a few of the best shots below!
23:50
Russia 2018 tunes
Looking for some music to pass the time until Sweden and Korea
Republic get underway on Monday? Be sure to check out our musical
selctions for the World Cup with our official playlists!
Football is in the air
already in Nizhny Novgorod! Great scenes from the FIFA Fan Fest watching
the football on display during Matchday 3.
20:30
Dream team?
How on earth would you fit these four into a frontline? Would you
have Ibrahimovic in behind a front three? Two banks of two attackers a
la Brazil in 2006? Or just let them all go for it and expect the goals
to flow?
19:02
Golden goal
A treat for the eyes and the ears - just listen to that noise!
17:57
Did you know?
Sweden are the only team in World Cup history to have faced three
former finalists en route to qualifying. France and the Netherlands were
in their group, while Italy were seen off in a memorable European
play-off.
16:15
Captain fantastic
Ki Sungyueng is a vital player for Korea Republic. In this
exclusive interview with FIFA.com, he speaks about his role as captain
and looks ahead to the team's participation at Russia 2018.
It tends to be overshadowed by the performance of Brazil and a
17-year-old Pele, but Sweden were World Cup finalists back in 1958.
Never seen the highlights? There are a couple of goals well worth
savouring!
13:56
Alexandra Jonson
The Swedish team is
constantly highlighting the great atmosphere in the team, and there is
no doubting that the positive mood is genuine. Here’s John Guidetti
showing off his dance moves after today’s training session...
13:11
2002 memories
For Korea Republic, the 2002 World Cup still represents the high
point of their nation's football history. Relive that wonderful
tournament with our exclusive video.
12:28
Alexandra Jonson
Sebastian Larsson is
the most capped player in Sweden’s squad and while the match against
Korea Republic would be his first at a World Cup, it will be his 101th
official match for the national team.
10:43
Alexandra Jonson
Sweden have held their last training session behind closed doors before heading to Nizhny Novgorod this afternoon.
10:42
Hounche Chung
Business as usual in
Spartak Stadium, as Korea Republic resume training before flying to
Nizhny Novgorod for #SWEKOR in two days time. Centre-half duo Jang
Hyunsoo and Kim Younggwon have told the press that their defensive
organisation is now "99 per cent ready".
10:37
Taeguk talisman
Find out what Korea Republic's star man, Son Heungmin, had to say when he spoke to FIFA.com ahead of the tournament.
Did you know that Sweden, with the likes of Brolin, Dahlin and
Larsson, were the highest scorers by a distance at USA 1994? We spoke to
one of the key men in the team that finished third that year about the
key to the team's success and his view on how Janne Andersson's Class of
2018 will fare in Russia.
In case you missed it earlier, you simply have to see Cristiano
Ronaldo's late free-kick that earned Portugal a point in a well fought
battle with neighbouring Spain in Friday's fantastic Group B match-up.
00:15
Leaving it late
Matchday 2 at Russia 2018 was all about late goals and high drama!
Check out our quick recap of Friday's footballing festivities below.
22:25
Is it Monday yet?
Sweden defender Victor Lindelof took to Instagram to show off his
recent participation in his side's photo shoot. The No3 is clearly
getting ready for Monday's clash with Korea Republic.
18:30
Alexandra Jonson
Emil Krafth have had a
fever and missed the last two days of training, but he is on the road to
recovery. Team Manager Lars Richt: "He’s better today. He didn’t have any fever this morning and has
been out of bed and eaten. I think he will come with us to Nizhny
Novgorod."
17:26
Alexandra Jonson
The Swedish national
team chef, Mats Broström, took time from the kitchen to speak to Swedish
media today. He explained that he normally makes a pasta station,
cooking the food infront of the players who can pick exactly what they
want. “Most of them go for carbonara. They are extreme carbonara fans.
Sometimes it gets a bit boring! They eat double portions. Half is pasta
then it’s salad and and a main course”
Emil Forsberg's favourite dish? "He likes fish, cold poached salmon with dill mayo."
16:15
Behind the scenes
The Taeguk Warriors are warming up for their ninth successive World Cup. Take a sneak peek into their early days in Russia.
14:42
Hounche Chung
Moon Seonmin was one of
the surprise call-ups to the Korea Republic squad for Russia 2018, but
his four years in Sweden with first Östersunds FK and then Djurgårdens
IF certainly did not go unnoticed by Shin Taeyong. The Incheon United
winger is confident that his side will pull off a good result against
Sweden, as he told FIFA TV today. "Swedish players are strong physically and very tall in general,
but at the same time they seem to lack the ability to react quickly.
Hopefully, we’ll be able to take advantage of the latter and create
quite a few good chances."
13:32
Any special World Cup memories?
Everybody has at least one World Cup moment that they hold dear. Sweden are asking their fans for theirs.
12:28
Learn about Korea Republic
If you want a bitesize insight into the Koreans, look no further.
11:22
Discover the Swedes
Want to know more about the Swedish side? Here's our handy crib sheet (video) for you to brush up on Janne Andersson's team.
10:36
Alexandra Jonson
The Swedish players are
having a rest day today before they start the final preparations for
their opening game. With it being the first time in 12 years that Sweden
participate in a World Cup, it will be a new experience for all of the
23 players in their squad. We spoke to Mikael Lustig: "At least we are a few who played in the Euros, but this is something special so we have to be on our toes from the start."
08:56
Sweden are here
The Blagult have touched down in Russia, ahead of their first game in
Nizhny Novgorod. It seems as though they're getting in the Russian
mood!
08:31
Behind the scenes
Our team reporter Hounche Chung is the man with the very best access
to the Korea Republic team, and he captured some photos of ... the
photos! Follow him for the very latest from the Korea camp!
08:20
Korea Republic in focus
Son Heungmin and Co show us their best side, with their photo shoot ahead of the big kick-off...
08:16
Hounche Chung
Written off as one of the
weaker teams to represent Korea Republic at the FIFA World Cup, the
Taeguk Warriors are coming into their first group match against Sweden
as underdogs. However, the atmosphere within the group at their base
camp in Saint Petersburg has been optimistic, as coach Shin Taeyong’s
side prepare for an unlikely upset.
08:12
Alexandra Jonson
Hello and welcome! I’m
Alexandra and here you'll be able to follow me and my colleague Hounche
as we build up to the Group F match between Sweden and Korea Republic.
We will be happy to share with you exclusive content, analysis, quotes
and a lot more…
Alexandra Jonson
Hounche Chung
