Sweden staying focused

The mood in the Sweden camp is serious ahead of tonight’s crucial clash with Kazakhstan, with star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic adding his voices to those demanding focus on the tie in Astana rather than speculating about likely play-off opponents.

“We are focusing on the away match against Kazakhstan,” said Ibrahimovic. “I am not even thinking about the play-off, but if you make any mistakes they will cost dearly”.

Team-mate Sebastian Larsson agreed all the remaining qualifying matches were very important. “We have an advantage now. It is very important to win the away matches, that is why we are very serious about the game with the Kazakhstan team. We can’t afford to make any mistakes,” Larsson said.

FC Krasnodar defender Andreas Granqvist is set for a recall after missing Friday’s 2-1 win over the Republic of Ireland through suspension.

Meanwhile, Germany striker Miroslav Klose has the chance to make history against the Faroe Islands tonight after matching Gerd Muller’s national goalscoring record of 68 with his opener in Friday’s 3-0 win over Austria. Low has guaranteed the 35-year-old Lazio man a starting berth at Torsvollur, but there was bad news for Borussia Dortmund winger Marco Reus, who stayed in Germany with a gastrointestinal infection.

“There’s going to be a minimum of one change because Reus is out,” Low added. “I might make up to three changes but Klose will start for sure.

“There’s Julian Draxler, Andre Schurrle and Sidney Sam (to replace Reus). Sam plays more on the right so it’s probably between Schurrle and Draxler — I’ll decide after training.”

Germany are just one win away from booking their place at next summer’s Brazil finals, providing Sweden fail to beat Kazakhstan in Astana.