Gerrard: We can compete
Steven Gerrard believes the spirit and will to win amongst the England squad means they can compete with the world's best teams.
Current world and European champions Spain delivered an outstanding demonstration of their technical talents with a resounding 4-0 victory over the Republic of Ireland on Thursday night, underlining why they are strong favourites to go all the way at Euro 2012.
Gerrard accepts England may not be on the same level as the likes of La Furia Roja technically, but he reckons the Three Lions' commitment and determination make them more than a match for any team.
Asked whether he felt England were not as good technically as other teams, Gerrard replied: "These people who have that opinion are watching Spain and Barcelona.
"Of course we are not as technically gifted as those teams or that type of player. They are the best in the world.
"What we haven't got in technique, maybe we gain on them in heart, desire and commitment."
Gerrard will lead England out in Kiev tonight aiming to take a giant step towards qualification for the knockout stages of Euro 2012 with a victory over Sweden.
Roy Hodgson's side ground out a 1-1 draw with France in their opening game of the tournament, though there were some suggestions the Three Lions had perhaps adopted a cautious approach.
It's a view dismissed by Gerrard, who insists England will be more adventurous tonight.
"You have to understand, you can't approach some of these teams and go out all attacking and gung-ho," he said. "If you are not organised, tight defensively and maybe sacrifice something going forward you go home early.
"Everyone's role changes slightly for this game. With all due respect to Sweden, they are not France. I can't tell you they are a similar standard to France.
"That means the whole team can be slightly more ambitious and we can attack more and maybe take more risks.
"Then you will see a better performance from the team going forward. The main thing is, we need to be solid and together.
"That is the major positive to take from the first game rather than any sense we are lacking in ambition going forward."
Gerrard added: "Although we're confident, that's not to say we won't be trying to learn from the mistakes we made in the first game.
"We've analysed what we did right and wrong against France and we will be trying to improve on our performance as well.
"I'm really happy with the start we've made to the tournament. It was really solid and we've left ourselves a good platform to build on.
"The boys are confident we will be on four points after this next game and that will be a good start to this group."
One man aiming to deflate England's optimism will be Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
The AC Milan star is regarded as one of the world's best forwards, and Gerrard is well aware of the threat he'll pose.
"Ibrahimovic is a world-class talent and he is very dangerous so we need the same level of commitment defensively to try and stop him," said the 32-year-old.
"If you give him time and space, he can hurt any team and we are well aware of him.
"We've watched videos of him and we are going to watch some more so we are going to be well prepared for Ibrahimovic.
"But he is not the only good player Sweden have. We have to worry about them as a whole team.
"They get dangerous crosses into the box, they are a big side. There is a lot more threat from Sweden than Ibrahimovic but he is a world-class talent."