Erik Hamren was pondering what might have been as he prepared for five days which could make or break his tenure as Sweden coach.

Hamren's side go into Friday's Euro 2012 qualifier in Finland second in Group E, six points behind Holland, who have secured their qualification and await in the final fixture on Tuesday.

Things are still looking reasonably rosy for Sweden. Should they beat Finland in Helsinki they will be assured of second place, with the one direct qualification spot available to the best runners-up also still in their grasp.

But it could have been better.

A loss to Hungary last month, which was followed by a 5-0 victory in San Marino four days later, means Sandor Egervari's men are level on points with Sweden having played a game more heading into the last two rounds of fixtures.

"In an ideal world we would have beaten Hungary and San Marino," Hamren said on fotboll.expressen.se.

"To me, we could be ready for the European Championship after the Finland match.

"We would then face a match against Holland to decide if we would be number one or two, I have been thinking. We could have been celebrating and having a good time on the plane home from Finland.

"But now that's not the case, it's a little different."

Theoretically, Sweden could still finish top of the group should they win their two remaining games and Holland lose theirs, with a big shift in goal difference.

In such a situation, Holland would still qualify as they would be the best of the runners-up in all groups.

That means the pressure is off for Bert van Marwijk's men when they face Moldova in Rotterdam.

Holland are second in the FIFA rankings, on the back of a World Cup final appearance and an impressive qualifying campaign, which has seen them win all eight games so far.

Playmaker Rafael van der Vaart said on www.telegraaf.nl as: "That says something about our strength.

"But with this group of players we must also win something."

Van der Vaart is likely to play in his favoured position behind striker Klaas Jan Huntelaar because of an injury to Wesley Sneijder.

Goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg was ruled out earlier this week, joining Barcelona midfielder Ibrahim Afellay and Everton defender John Heitinga on the sidelines, while Arjen Robben has since been ruled out of both Friday's game and next week's clash with Sweden.

After opening with a 2-0 win over Finland, Moldova's campaign has been a disappointment, with their only subsequent victory coming against San Marino.

They have also lost all three previous games against Holland.

With nothing to play for, Moldova's Romanian coach Gavril Balint has shaken things up a bit, leaving out a number of his more experience players.