World Cup Qualifiers – Sweden at Portugal

Portugal and Sweden will clash in the first of a two leg series, to see who gets one of the last spots to the 2014 World Cup, this Friday at 14:45 PM ET at the Estadio da Luz, in Lisboa.

Cristiano Ronaldo from Portugal, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic from Sweden are two of the top three best players in the world, but someone will be out of the most important soccer tournament in the planet at the end of this series.

“I see two different players, two players who do things fantastically well and represent their countries in the best possible way,” Ibrahimovic told reporters on Wednesday.

“One shouldn’t focus on just two players – it’s Sweden against Portugal, and I think the collectives are the most important.”

Portugal is listed as the favorites in the money line at -160, and Sweden is listed +450; plus the draw is +270. The goals total is at 2.5.

“Zlatan Ibrahimovic is a great player, he’s also in a great moment with his club, he has an excellent ability,” Portugal coach Paulo Bento said on Thursday.

“For us, to try and stop this player we have to make a collective effort and not just be aware of the individual. We need to understand the organization of Sweden and on the top of everything, play our game.”

The last games between these two teams ended 0-0 for the 2010 World Cup.  Portugal advanced then as they both were in the same qualifying group and Sweden watched the tournament from home.