Goal shy Sweden face uphill battle

FRANKFURT, June 11 (Reuters) Sweden have yet to win a match this year having scored only two goals and face an uphill battle after a 0-0 draw against Trinidad&Tobago.

The unfancied Caribbeans, down to 10 men early in the second half of their Group B World Cup opener, kept the Swedes at bay with veteran goalkeeper Shaka Hislop the hero of the night.

''The World Cup started with a nightmare,'' wrote Johan Esk, sports columnist at Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter.

Sweden coach Lars Lagerback is under pressure to find a winning formula otherwise his team of players from famous clubs such as Juventus, Barcelona, Arsenal and Anderlecht face an early exit from the tournament in Germany.

Their next opponents are Paraguay in Berlin on June 15 and many of the Swedish players expect a difficult match.

''We have to win our next match, they (Paraguay) have to win and we have to win,'' defender Erik Edman told reporters.

Paraguay lost their opening match 1-0 to England, leaving the South Americans last in the standings.

''We at least would need a win and a draw, maybe two wins,'' Lagerback said.

NO STRANGERS Sweden, who play England on June 20 in Cologne in their final group match, are no strangers to being in tight spots early on in big tournaments.

In their first match of the 1994 World Cup, Sweden drew 2-2 against Cameroon but went all the way to the semi-finals.

In the 2002 World Cup, they drew their opener 1-1 against England but nevertheless won a tough group, eliminating Argentina and Nigeria.

Prior to the 2006 World Cup, they played warm-up matches against Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Ireland, Finland and Chile -- all opponents way below Sweden's 16th spot in the world rankings -- but failed to win any of them and scored just two goals.

Target man Zlatan Ibrahimovic of Juventus has not scored for Sweden since October when they clinched their place in the this year's World Cup finals by beating Iceland 3-1.

''We need better plays to 'Henke' (striker Henrik Larsson) and Zlatan,'' captain Olof Mellberg said after yesterday's match.

Kim Kallstrom, a 78th minute substitute against Trinidad&Tobago, could be the ace up Lagerback's sleeve. He stepped up the pace of Sweden's attacking game and served up a number of good crosses.

REUTERS PDS KP1657