Sebastian Larsson welcomes Howard Webb appointment

Sweden midfielder Sebastian Larsson has admitted that he was pleased when he heard that Howard Webb would officiate his nation's clash with Portugal tomorrow night.

The Swedes go into the match trailing 1-0 from the opening leg of the playoff in Lisbon, where Cristiano Ronaldo scored the only goal of the game.

However, Larsson believes that the presence of Webb will allow the home side to be more physical in their approach this time around.

"We have an English referee now so we can probably go in a bit harder. I do not think he is going to fall for the same tricks so easily," the Sunderland player told reporters.

"Howard Webb is used to refereeing where the game is a little more physical. He's a great referee, too, which is important for such a big game."

Webb has previously refereed a number of big matches, including the 2010 World Cup final in South Africa.