Wednesday, June 11

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Sports Mole previews Tuesday's International Friendlies clash between Sweden and Algeria, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Two sides looking to fine-tune their rhythm ahead of competitive action will meet on Tuesday as Sweden welcome Algeria to Strawberry Arena in an international friendly encounter.

This will be just the second ever meeting between both nations, with the Blue and Yellow having claimed a 2-0 win in their previous non-competitive contest back in 2022.

 

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Match preview

Having suffered back-to-back defeats in last year’s June window, Sweden appear to be rewriting that storyline with a winning start this time.

Jon Dahl Tomasson’s side enter Tuesday’s clash on the back of a convincing 2-0 victory away to Hungary last Friday, and given that they have never managed a perfect record in the sixth month of the year for over a decade, this current run feels particularly significant.

Sweden arrive in electric form, with seven wins from their last nine matches across all competitions (D1, L1), a run that includes the demolition of Northern Ireland in a 5-1 result back in March.

Their recent UEFA Nations League campaign ended on a high with the Blue and Yellow sealing top spot in Group C with five victories and a single draw, a return that confirms their promotion to the second tier.

With a World Cup qualifier against Slovakia set for September, this fixture serves as a final tune-up to polish the edges of a side growing in confidence under their Danish boss.

Algeria, on the other hand, have already kicked off their own road to the 2026 tournament and so far, Vladimir Petkovic’s men have handled business with clinical ease in the African preliminaries.

The Greens sit comfortably atop Group B with five victories and just one defeat from six matches, placing them three points clear of second-placed Mozambique in the standings.

That solitary setback came a year ago in a 2-1 home loss to Guinea, but since then, Algeria have gone twelve matches unbeaten across all competitions.

The run features a routine 2-0 triumph over Tanzania in last Thursday’s friendly and includes ten wins along the way.

Algeria will aim to keep that momentum rolling as they head into the final leg of their qualifiers, with September’s double-header against Botswana and Guinea followed by October fixtures against Somalia and Uganda.

 

Sweden International Friendlies form:

Sweden form (all competitions):

Algeria International Friendlies form:

Algeria form (all competitions):

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Team News

The absence of Sweden’s headline-attacking duo Viktor Gyokeres and Alexander Isak did little to halt their progress, as Benjamin Nygren stepped into the spotlight with a well-taken goal in Budapest. 

Isak’s injury at the tail end of the 2024-25 campaign with Newcastle has ruled him out of the current squad, while Gyokeres was withdrawn due to fitness concerns and has not featured for the national side since netting four goals against Azerbaijan last November.

A 4-4-2 system was deployed to good effect last time out, and the same setup could be expected again with Nottingham Forest’s Anthony Elanga likely to join Nygren in attack.

Algeria, on the other hand, will have to make do without Rayan Ait-Nouri, as the Wolverhampton Wanderers full-back left camp on Thursday to undergo a medical with Manchester City ahead of what looks set to be a high-profile switch.

Ramiz Zerrouki remained on the bench against Rwanda last time out in what was his return to the national team since November, but the 27-year-old midfielder may be handed a starting role in Solna.

Captain Riyad Mahrez made his 102nd appearance for the Greens in that Rwanda encounter, bringing him within three caps of record-holder Aissa Mandi.

 

Sweden possible starting lineup:         

Olsen; Gudmundsson, Hien, Ekdai; Svensson, Ayari, Saletros, Larsson, Bernhardsson; Elanga, Nygren

Algeria possible starting lineup: 

Benbot; Atal, Tougai, Bensebaini, Hadjam; Zerrouki, Maza, Bentaleb; Mahrez, Bounedjah

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We say: Sweden 1-1 Algeria

  With both sides in buoyant form and Algeria particularly impressive on the road — now six away games unbeaten — this fixture promises to be tightly contested, and although Sweden have won their last four on home soil, a draw feels like the most fitting outcome.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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