MORAGA, California -- Two to go. Before the World Cup, nine players said Sweden would reach the final. One optimist was Klas Ingesson, who is standing by his pre-tournament prediction. "We can beat all teams that are left in the tournament," Ingesson said heading into Sunday's quarterfinal against Romania at Stanford Stadium. "Tying Brazil gave us so much confidence." Even without striker Martin Dahlin, who has four goals but was suspended for accumulated yellow cards, Sweden took a 1-0 halftime lead against Brazil on Kennet Andersson's goal. Ingesson, who turns 26 next month, has 46 caps for Sweden since his 1989 debut and was a member of the team that finished third at the European Championship two years ago. The British odds makers also like unbeaten Sweden's chances in the World Cup. After the first round, Sweden was listed as the fourth choice (9-1) behind Brazil, Germany and Italy. Ingesson, who plays for PSV Eindhoven in the Dutch first division, will face one of his club teammates on Sunday -- defender-midfielder Gheorghe Popescu. The key to beating Romania is to close down its options in midfield -- i.e. Gheorghe Hagi, who has three goals and is a leading candidate for most valuable player. Swedish coach Tommy Svensson was impressed by Romania's attacking play against 1990 finalist Argentina and points to Hagi as the man to stop. "Hagi has been the outstanding player of the tournament," Svensson says. "His split vision is fantastic. He's fast, technically very strong and dangerous at free kicks. He also makes other players good." nWhen it comes to the World Cup, Brazilians carry a grudge. They have bad blood with Italy for eliminating their brilliant but overconfident team from the 1982 World Cup. They never entirely forgave Uruguay for beating them -- in Rio de Janeiro, no less -- in the final of the 1950 Cup. Do not even mention the Argentinians. Theirs is a feud for the ages, although the last Cup encounter was particularly aggravating: a 1-0 Argentinian win that eliminated Brazil in 1990. So it seems logical that Brazilians would look forward to their quarterfinal game with the Netherlands on Saturday as a chance to avenge their defeat in the 1974 Cup at the hands of the Dutch. Surprisingly, they do not. "There is no desire for vengeance," said assistant coach Mario Zagalo, who coached Brazil's 1974 team. His words startled Brazilian journalists, who expected to hear a juicy story about another grudge match. "Holland without a doubt was much better than us," Zagalo told his incredulous audience. The admission was all the more startling coming from Zagalo. A star of Brazil's first two world champion teams in 1958 and 1962 and coach of the third in 1970, Zagalo is a notorious cheerleader for the "We're No. 1" school of thought. But here he was, a connoisseur of the sport rendering homage to one of the finest expressions of "art soccer." "It was Cruyff's generation," he recalled, referring to the Dutch captain Johan Cruyff. "They had six or seven players who were simply extraordinary. Their soccer left its mark on the world." The Dutch stormed into that Cup as favorites. Their playing style of constant movement and few fixed positions was dubbed the "carousel." The team itself, in its bright orange uniforms, was known as "The Clockwork Orange." Brazilians were furious when they lost that match. Coffins of the players were paraded in the street, and pictures of Zagalo were burned in effigy. Dutch coach Dick Advocaat was asked the difference between the teams of then and now. "The difference is simply 20 years," he said. nGerman midfielder Matthias Sammer's hopes of being fit for Sunday's World Cup quarterfinal with Bulgaria suffered a setback Thursday when he was unable to train. Sammer, one of the world champions' most impressive players at the tournament, has been suffering with a strained calf muscle in his left leg. In spite of the nagging injury, coach Berti Vogts is still optimistic that the Borussia Dortmund player will win his fitness battle in the next three days. "We still have Friday and Saturday's training. I hope the medical staff can get him ready," Vogts said.(AP, Reuters)