We need the spirit of '94

As for England we all know about David Beckham and Michael Owen but Sven-Goran Eriksson has picked a lot of young, inexperienced players.

Plus they have a lot of injuries to worry about. I think that gives us a very good chance of qualifying at their expense.

But in Sven they have a great coach who might make a major impact. I played for him at the end of the 1970s when he was coach of the Swedish Under-21 side with Tord Grip. He was the same then: rather cool and choosing to communicate with his players in a quiet way. Even back then he had established his management style. I don't know if it's the Swedish way. Not every coach in Sweden is like Sven. Many lose their tempers and shout and scream. It is just Sven's way.

He has done a tremendous job. When he went from Lazio I didn't quite understand what he was doing. I thought he was crazy. I could not believe he swapped that for England. To put himself under all that pressure seemed very strange. But now, looking at the way things have turned out, it's clear it was a good choice.

Meanwhile, Sweden booked their tickets to Japan and Korea without losing a game. What happened before is now irrelevant. I remember beating Finland 6-0 in a warm-up game before the 1990 World Cup in Italy. Everyone back in Sweden was tipping us to go a long way. But injuries and overtraining had an effect and we let ourselves down, losing all three qualifying games 2-1. The experience of Euro 2000, which was very similar to that World Cup, will motivate them. They played very badly in Holland and Belgium.

We will need 12 or 13 players all at their very best but you never know if that is going to happen until the first game. That's what happened in America eight years ago. It all just clicked between us.

It also helps if the players are fresh. Everyone is talking about Henrik Larsson and Freddie Ljungberg but they have had long domestic seasons in Britain. Freddie has got a problem with his back and neither player is as prolific for their country as they are for their clubs.

That's why Patrik Andersson is, for me, the key player for Sweden. He has been a vital part of the team since the European Championships in 1992 in Sweden. He also played in the World Cup in 1994 and in Euro 2000.

I tip Zlatan Ibrahimovic to be the new Swedish star to emerge. He is only young and has been at Ajax for a season. He has technical skills which are unbelievable. He probably won't start but will come on as a substitute and then, watch out.

For me everything is possible. There's no reason why this Swedish team can't achieve their dreams.

Thomas Ravelli kept goal for Sweden 143 times between 1981 and 1997 - a world record for a goalkeeper.