On Friday at 17.30, Sweden will start the World Cup qualifier away against Slovakia.

Tonight, the national team gathered to prepare for the match.

And during the World Cup qualifiers, it is not only a place for the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand 2023 that is in the pot, but also an Olympic place.

- We are eager to perform again and win football matches.

We now have the opportunity to give ourselves a good position in the group.

In this qualifier, a World Cup and an Olympics in Paris are in the pot and it is important to perform here on Friday and Tuesday, says Peter Gerhardsson to SVT Sport.

After the Olympic silver, Sweden really climbed the world rankings and they are currently ranked second in the world.

And the national team has become one of the favorite nations, something that the national team captain views positively.

- I think everyone likes the situation we are in. Our previous achievements are nothing that weighs on us.

Being a favorite means that you have performed, but that does not mean that you win matches automatically.

Slovakia is thus waiting for Friday, a resistance that they defeated in the European Championship qualifier 2020 with 6-0.

- We have met Slovakia before.

We have great respect for the opponents and there are many parts that we have done well against them, including fixed situations.

We are eager to win the matches and hopefully perform well, says national team captain Gerhardsson to SVT Sport.

After Friday's match, Georgia is waiting at home on September 21.

CLIP: Nightmare draw for Häcken in CL (September 13)

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Tough CL draw for BK Häcken.

Photo: Bildbyrån