Nils Ekman has followed the Swedish team during the tournament and saw Tre Kronor's match warm-up this morning on site in Riga.
He thinks that the players give a calm and relaxed impression.
- The guys are prepared.
They have been in pressured situations before.
Maybe not like this in a World Cup where an entire nation expects a place in the playoffs, but ever since childhood they have dreamed of being a hockey player and being in these situations, says Ekman and adds:
- What could happen is that Sweden gets some unfortunate bounces against it and ends up at a disadvantage.
Then the brain ghosts can enter and then the house of cards can collapse.
Despite historic losses against Denmark and Belarus at the start of the World Cup, Nils Ekman maintains that Tre Kronor is a medal candidate.
- Sweden is a medal candidate and has a good team.
If you look at the player squad, Sweden has a better team than Slovakia, but if you look at how both teams have performed in this tournament, this is a real thriller.
It will be an even match.
Slovakia defeated Denmark 2-0 yesterday and tops Sweden's group with twelve points before Sunday's matches.