Colombia team captain Teofilo Gutierrez. (Photo : Getty Images)
Sweden and Colombia face each other at the Arena da Amazônia in Manaus on August 4, Thursday for the opening match of Group B competitions in the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics football tournament.
The Blue-Yellow qualified in this year's Olympics by winning UEFA European U-21 Championship last year, beating Portugal, 0-0 (4-3) on penalties, in the final match.
Zlatan Ibrahimović, the 34-year-old former Swedish captain, is now retired from international play as he is set to lead the Manchester United revolution in the English Premier League later this month.
However, head coach Håkan Ericson's side is not a pushover with striker Mikael Ishak still available for the squad's U-23 lineup. They also don't lack experience as current captain Astrit Ajdarević, Besiktas defender Alexander Milošević, and Mersin İdmanyurdu midfielder Abdul Khalili have all suited up as the team's overage players and are expected to provide much-needed guidance and leadership to the younger ones, as per ESPN.
They are set for a tough challenge in their opener against Los Cafeteros, though, as even without James Rodriguez, the veteran participation of team captain Teofilo Gutierrez, striker Dorlan Pabon, and defender William Tesillo is enough for the squad to be one of the favorites to advance in the final four.
Manager Carlos Restrepo's boys advanced to Rio by defeating Team USA in a two-game qualifying playoff last March. After a 1-1 draw in the first leg, the Colombians beat the Americans, 2-1, in the second leg at the Toyota Stadium in Texas to earn the Olympic berth, Sports Illustrated reported.
Striker Roger Martinez scored a brace that time, but the 22-year-old Jiangsu Suning goalscorer will not participate in Rio for undisclosed reasons.
Attacker Marlos Moreno and center back Yerry Mina will also be unavailable due to injuries, but the team is still strong enough to make a deep run in the tourney.
Sweden is a strong bunch but the experience of Gutierrez and his partners in the senior team may be too much to handle for the Blågult.
The predicted result is a 2-0 win for Colombia.
Sweden starting lineup (4-2-3-1 formation): Linde; Lundqvist, Milosevic, Nilsson, Konate; Ajdarevic, Quaison; Tankovic, Khalili, Berisha; Ishak
Colombia starting lineup (4-3-3 formation): Bonilla; Palacios, Aguilar, Borja, Machado; Barrios, Lerma, Roa; Preciado, Gutierrez, Pabon
