England-Sweden Preview

(AP) -- LONDON (SE) - Kiev plays host to the pivotal game in Group D when Sweden play England at the Olympic Stadium.

Both teams are in need of a win to keep their Euro 2012 future in their own hands, with Sweden losing 2-1 to Ukraine and England drawing 1-1 with France in their respective opening games. Facing the prospect of a tournament exit with a defeat to England, Sweden talisman Zlatan Ibrahimovic admitted to being disappointed to have lost to the tournament co-hosts.

"We shouldn't have lost," said the AC Milan forward. "We had good chances to score goals. We were winning 1-0, then they scored to make it 1-1 and another to make it 2-1 from a corner and that just can't happen. But we have two games left to do better.

"I felt a bit nervous in the first half, but we started the second half better, we played better and held the ball and were a bit more daring. But that sums up football; things start to go well and you concede a goal and then a second goal after that.

"We just have to focus. Two great matches lie ahead of us against two great teams and we will do much better. We will just prepare for them and do even better. We can learn not to throw away a lead in the manner we did and to be a bit more daring. It isn't just about one game."

England have never beaten Sweden in a competitive match - a run that includes three European Championship meetings - but impressed defensively in their opening match with France. However, the players visibly tired in the high temperatures in Donetsk, and manager Roy Hodgson admits there may be fitness concerns for Friday's game.

"I will have to assess the freshness of my team and see whether they are able to do that again," said Hodgson. "Scott Parker and Steven Gerrard are both over 30 and had to work really hard. I'm not the only coach wondering 'can they do it every four days?'

"My gut feeling, after a good recovery day on Tuesday, a sensible training day on Wednesday and sensible recovery day on Thursday, is that it will be very hard for me to leave people out. If we said 'we're going to give you a rest because it's too much to play two games in four days,' some of them would have us up against the wall.

"But what we've got to make certain of, is that if they can't, or start to show signs of fatigue, that others are ready to go in and do exactly the same job. The mood in the dressing room is exceptionally good because we have shown we can handle difficult conditions, against a France team of that quality, and come away with a good result."

The other two teams in Group D are co-hosts Ukraine and group favourites France who meet earlier on Friday in Donetsk, with Ukraine looking to seal a quarter-final spot with a win.