FILIP Helander’s chances of playing for Sweden in the Euro 2020 finals next summer will be enhanced greatly if he can retain his place in the Rangers starting line-up this season and help the Ibrox club enjoy success at home and abroad.

The centre half, though, can do his prospects of being a fixture for his country in the rescheduled tournament no harm at all in their Nations League matches against two formidable opponents in the coming days.

Helander is, with his captain Andreas Granqvist sidelined due to injury, set to be involved against either the Russia 2018 winners France, the Euro 2016 champions Portugal or both.

The £3.5m defender has put the foot injury that blighted his debut season in Scotland firmly behind him in recent weeks by helping Steven Gerrard’s team keep clean sheets in four Premiership matches.

Facing the likes of Olivier Giroud, Antoine Griezmann and Kylian Mbappe in the Friends Arena in Solna tomorrow or Cristiano Ronaldo and Bernardo Silva in the same venue on Tuesday will be a stern test.

Yet, the 27-year-old, who has been capped 11 times in the past three years, can go a long way towards establishing himself in his national team by performing well against those international superstars according to one of his compatriots.

Anders Andersson, the former Blackburn Rovers and Benfica midfielder who played for Sweden at both Euro 2000 and Euro 2004 and is now a pundit for TV4 in his homeland, feels that Helander has an opportunity to cement a place in Janne Andersson’s side in the forthcoming double header.

“The first choice centre backs for Sweden recently have been Andreas Granqvist, who has been the captain and leader, and Victor Lindelof, who obviously plays for Manchester United,” he said.

“Filip and Pontus Jansson of Brentford, who he played with at Malmo when he was starting out and is good friends with, are just behind them. But the coach wants to try a few different things in these games and Helander will definitely play in at least one of them.

“He has done well when he has played for Sweden in the past. He came on for Lindelof at half-time against Turkey in a difficult away game in the last Nations League back in 2018 and was very solid. He helped his side win 1-0. The coaches are very confident with his abilities.”

Andersson added: “Lindelof is definitely No.1. The manager relied a lot on Granqvist as well. But he has now been out for a couple of months. He is also 35. Nobody knows if he is going to play again.

“These games are important for Jansson and Helander. I think they will probably show who is going to be next to Lindelof in the Euros.”

Andersson, who played in the same Swedish team as Celtic greats Henrik Larsson and Johan Mjallby, reckons the move to Rangers has been beneficial for Helander and believes he has developed as a defender even though he only made 18 appearances due to his injury.

“Filip and I come from the same club, Malmo,” he said. “He is a very calm and stable guy. He doesn’t stress over anything. That is a good quality for a central defender. He is somebody you can rely on.

“He is smart enough and tough enough to play in that role. But he has improved as a player in the past season. He is much better with the ball at his feet than he used to be. He is comfortable in possession.

“I think the move to Scotland has been good for him. He has the confidence of a coach who might not be experienced, but is well known in the game and that is good for his self-belief.

“He played in the top flight in Italy, but for a smaller club, Bologna. I played for Benfica in Portugal and I know exactly what it is like to play for a big club in a smaller league.

“The pressure is always on, but especially with the journey that Rangers have been on in the last few years. They are back on track. He is part of that and that is a good position to be in.

“Mikael Lustig, his colleague in the national team, played for Celtic for many years and did really well. The Swedes in general enjoy playing for the big two clubs in Scotland.

“He is a great age at the moment. I met him in Malmo in the summer and found him to be very confident. It was a strange time with coronavirus. But he was upbeat and certain he would do well after his injury and he has. He has a good chance with Sweden now.”

He continued: “Jansson and Helander are quite similar in that they are tall and physical. But Jansson used to play as a striker when he was younger and has a different technique. He is maybe more comfortable with the ball than Helander in some senses.

“Filip isn’t as emotional on the pitch. He can get angry and he doesn’t back down, but Jansson can be fiery.”

So is Andersson confident the Rangers man can keep his cool if finds Mbappe or Ronaldo advancing towards him in the coming days? “It will be just like playing Motherwell!” he said. “Maybe not! But, no, obviously it is these games that make you learn a lot. It will be a great experience for Filip and will help him when he returns to his club.

“France and Portugal have great players. But Sweden beat France in Russia 2018 qualifying and then Italy in the play-off. We know that we can beat the big teams. Like Scotland over the generations. We are a confident side.”

The 27-times capped player, who helped Sweden reach the quarter-finals of Euro 2004 in Portugal, predicted that a bright future lies ahead for his country in international football.

“Swedes are team players,” he said. “That is our mentality. It is always really enjoyable to go to meet up with your friends in the national team. Everyone enjoys it very much. There are no clashes. I played with Henrik Larsson was a very good team player and an ultimate professional.

“We have some players who can be really good in the future. We have Alexander Isak who was at Borussia Dortmund, but now plays for Real Sociedad. He is a big talent.

“If he develops he can become a very good player. We have Dejan Kulusevski who was at Parma and is now at Juventus. He is a huge talent. They are both only 20. I think we have a good team coming.

“But when I played we had players who played at big clubs in big leagues and at the moment we do not have that. But it will come and Filip can be a big part of things going forward.”