Sweden vs Iran: International Soccer Friendly Preview, Live Stream, Prediction
Sweden and Iran national teams will collide in an international soccer friendly match on Tuesday at Friends Arena in Stockholm.
Sweden will look to pick up from where they left off during their 2-0 win against Moldova on Friday at the Republican Stadium. They will once again rely on star forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who scored Sweden's two goals in their friendly against Moldova.
Sweden coach Erik Hamren is looking forward to facing one of the powerhouse teams in Asia. He said the game against Iran, who fared well in the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil despite failing to score a victory, will be a good test for them.
"The friendly match against Iran is very important for us," Hamren said in a news conference. "We are going to test ourselves against a good team such as Iran."
Hamren likes their chances against the Iranian squad, but they are wary of the counter attack of their opponent, which he said was in full display during the Asian team's win against Chile on Thursday.
"Iran has a very dangerous counter-attack," Hamren added. "We saw their match against Chile. Iran could have scored several goals in the first half."
Iran is coming off an impressive 2-0 win against Chile in their friendly match at the NV Arena.
Team captain Javad Nekounam netted his 38th international goal when he converted one in the 21st minute of the match off a corner kick from Andranik Teymourian. Reza Ghoochannejhad then set Vahid Amiri up for another goal in the 50th minute and held on to complete the win against Chile, who played without star Alexis Sanchez.
Iran coach Carlos Queiroz, who will be making his farewell game for the national team, said the friendly against Sweden will be a good experience for the squad in the hope of improving for future international events.
"It is an important match for us," Queiroz told Radio Sweden. "It is an opportunity for Iran's national team to gain experience in international football by playing against the Swedish national team full of international players."
Iran will be playing away from home, but Queiroz expects to get a huge support from the crowd as reports indicated that most of the 40,000 fans who bought tickets for the match are Swedes with Iranian origin.
"It feels like playing at home," Queiroz added. "And I know that our Swedish fans are very passionate."
Prediction
Both teams are coming off convincing victories and their upcoming match should be a close one. Sweden is expected to utilize their biggest advantage, star forward Ibrahimovic, but the Iranians are expected to go all out in their bid of scoring a win or having a respectable finish against a formidable foe. Sweden 1-0.
TV Schedule & Where to Watch
The Sweden-Iran match is scheduled to start at 1:30 p.m. ET and will be shown live on beIN Sports Arabia 16 and Super Sport 3. Soccer fans can also catch the match via online live stream on this link.
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