Quarter-Finals Preview/Sweden v Holland: History, tradition and the logic of this tournament suggest Holland will beat Sweden when they meet for what could well be another entertaining quarter-final in Faro tonight writes Paddy Agnew

Even if the Swedes have the better first-round record, Holland's role in that titanic 3-2 loss to the Czechs last Saturday in Aveiro said much about their unrealised potential.

On paper, this is a clash between solid, organised Swedes and explosive, attacking Dutch. In reality, the Swedes, thanks to the talents of Henrik Larsson and Zlatan Ibrahimovic up front, are more than their usual solid, if sometimes dour, selves.

In reality, too, the Dutch have so far under-performed, whether due to the misguided selections and tactics of coach Dick Advocaat or to traditional Dutch in-house squabbling at tournaments.

Having got this far, thanks to the Czech reserves beating Germany, it is only reasonable to expect the Dutch to step up their game. Whereas Sweden would seem to have played just about as well as they can in the first round, the Dutch surely have huge room for improvement.

Certainly, the mood in the Dutch camp is one of relief and, even if no one is saying it out loud, the suspicion is that finally, by hook or by crook, the Dutch have stumbled on to their best team and tactics.

In a tournament which has so far rewarded attacking sides willing to risk talented youngsters, the Dutch have a potential match-winner in winger Arjen Robben.

With Robben on the left, Andy van der Meyde on the right and Ruud van Nistelrooy in the centre, the Dutch could have too much fire-power for a Swedish defence which, for an hour against Italy, could hardly get its foot on the ball. Much will also depend on the ball-winning impact of midfield battler Edgar Davids as well as on the creative play of Clarence Seedorf.

The Dutch have only one injury worry in defender Wilfred Bouma, who missed the 3-0 win over Latvia and was replaced by veteran Frank de Boer who will probably hold on to his team place tonight.

In contrast to the Dutch, the Swedes have progressed thus far thanks only to themselves, even allowing for all the unfounded Italian suspicions about their 2-2 draw with Denmark.

The suspicion remains, though, with the exception of Ibrahimovic and Larsson, and perhaps Freddy Ljungberg in midfield, this Swedish side is short on real quality. When it comes to a European Championship quarter-final, there tends to be a premium on real quality rather than the sort of all-round solidity that has taken the Swedes this far.

Sweden have to make changes in defence since Erik Edman is suspended and right back Teddy Lucic is doubtful because of a rib injury. Mikael Nilsson is on standby if Lucic is not risked.

PROBABLE TEAMS:

HOLLAND (4-3-3): Van der Sar; Reiziger, de Boer, Stam, Van Bronckhorst; Seedorf, Davids, Cocu; van der Meyde, van Nistelrooy, Robben.

SWEDEN (4-4-2): Isaksson; Lucic (Nilsson), Jakobsson, Hansson, Mellberg; Andersson, Kallstrom, Johnsson, Ljungberg; Ibrahimovic, Larsson.