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LISBON, Portugal — The encounter between Portugal and Sweden is the marquee matchup in the European playoffs to complete the continents 13 entries for next years World Cup. Portugal and Sweden finished second in their qualifying groups behind Russia and Germany, respectively. Here are five things to know about the first-leg game in Lisbon on Friday. The second leg is at the Swedish national stadium on Tuesday. ___ JUST ONE, NOT BOTH One of Europes most sensational goalscorers wont be thrilling the crowds in Brazil. Portugals Cristiano Ronaldo and Swedens Zlatan Ibrahimovic are two of the games top showmen, and prolific scorers, with the kind of talent that can light up stadiums. And both are in top form — they each bagged a hat trick for their clubs last weekend. Ronaldos third hat trick of the Spanish season for Real Madrid made him the top scorer in La Liga with 16 goals in 13 rounds. He has added another eight in four Champions League games. The 28-year-old winger, who was crowned FIFA world player of the year in 2008, is Portugals second-highest scorer after Eusebio, with 43 strikes in 107 appearances. Swedish defender Mikael Lustig has the job of marking Ronaldo — and says hell need some help, because "support is the secret in a game like this." Ibrahimovic is Swedens second all-time scorer, with 46 goals. He has racked up 15 goals in 16 games for Paris Saint-Germain this season, including seven in the Champions League. The 32-year-old striker was the French leagues top scorer last season and can swing a game in his teams favour. A year ago, he scored all of Swedens goals in a 4-2 win over England, with his late overhead kick counting as one of the sports greatest goals. "We can stop him," Portuguese centre-back Bruno Alves said, "but it means stopping the whole Sweden team because if he doesnt get the ball he cant do much." ___ OTHERS TO WATCH Nani has spent most of his international career in Ronaldos shadow. The Manchester United winger has struggled to make his mark over the past year, being sidelined by injuries that kept him out of four Portugal matches. He didnt find the net for 16 months up to Octobers qualifier against Luxembourg. With 14 goals in 70 appearances for Portugal, Nani is keen to claim his place in the limelight. "Its all about having the right attitude," he said. While the Portuguese focus their attention on Ibrahimovic, they face a big obstacle at the other end of the pitch where goalkeeper Andreas Isaksson is one of Swedens standout players. The 32-year-old is Swedens bulwark, often saving the day when the sometimes brittle Swedish defence cracks. Isaksson produced some spectacular saves in Swedens qualifiers against Austria and Ireland and memorably saved a stunning bicycle kick by Lionel Messi last February. ___ PORTUGALS PROBLEMS The Portuguese commonly play better against big-name teams than less famous ones. Their qualifying campaign was spoiled by home and away draws against Israel and a home draw against Northern Ireland. Inconsistency has dogged Portugal, which has won just eight of its 16 qualifiers and friendly games since the 2012 European Championship finals. This is the third time in a row Portugal has fallen short of automatic qualification for a major international tournament. It also went through the playoffs to reach the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012. Despite having Ronaldo on its team, it has struggled to make its superiority tell on the scoresheet. "Even when weve played well weve lacked something vital — effectiveness in front of goal," coach Paulo Bento said. Portugals joint second-top scorer in qualifying was central defender Bruno Alves, whose four goals matched those by Ronaldo. Helder Postiga was top with six. ___ SWEDISH SPIRIT While playing unevenly and sometimes coming up short in defence, Sweden showed an impressive fighting spirit in its qualifying campaign. Most remarkably, the team rallied from four goals down to draw 4-4 with Germany. It also turned around a game against Austria, fighting back from a goal down to win 2-1, and did the same against Ireland for a 2-1 victory. That record isnt lost on Portugal coach Bento. "Sweden is a team that never gives up," he said. "Well have to be totally concentrated." ___ HISTORY LESSONS Portugal is ranked 14th in world by FIFA. Sweden is at 25th. Though the Portuguese have risen to the occasion at international tournaments, reaching the semifinals of the 2006 World Cup and Euro 2012, their trophy cabinet is still bare, as is Swedens. Sweden has never lost in Portugal in seven visits. It also has a head-to-head advantage with six wins and three defeats against Portugal. But the Swedes havent beaten Portugal since 1984, and their last three meetings ended in draws. "Neither team can be said to be the favourite," Bento said. ____ Malin Rising contributed to this report from Stockholm. 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Hes holding on to the heartache to stoke his competitive fire.James Reimer and his Toronto teammates return to the scene of the crime Saturday night. Its a new season -- some six months on -- so the chalk outline of the Maple Leafs has been erased at TD Garden in Boston. But memories of a Game 7 collapse against the Bruins in last seasons playoffs may take longer to forget. For Reimer, the post-season ended facedown in his crease after Patrice Bergeron scored at 6:05 of overtime to cap a miraculous 5-4 recovery for a Bruins team that trailed 4-1 some nine minutes into the third period. Back in the post-season after a nine-year absence, Toronto had clawed its way back from a 3-1 series deficit only to see the first-round comeback crash and burn. It was painful for players and fans alike. "That hockey game will haunt me until the day I die," winger Joffrey Lupul tweeted the next day. Reimer, who has been sharing goaltending duties with Jonathan Bernier this season, gets a chance to write some new memories in Beantown on Saturday. "It means something, but I dont think its as big a deal as Im sure people are making it out to be," Reimer said after the morning skate Friday. "If we win there (Saturday) it doesnt reverse what happened last year. If we play them in the first round of the playoffs again, then maybe you can say theres more of a story there. But its a regular-season game. "Obviously theres a history there and you want to play well and you want to win. But the main thing is the two points." Toronto (11-5-0) can also take solace from the fact that it arrives in Boston with a slightly better record than the Bruins (9-5-1). The return to Boston holds no surprises for Toronto coach Randy Carlyle. "We know that we can and we have proven to ourselves we can go in and compete with the Boston Bruins," he said. "Simple as that." "We think we can go into any building and compete with any team as long as we stick to the game plan and execute," echoed ccentre Nazem Kadri.dddddddddddd Leafs forward Jay McClement looked to take something positive from the playoff loss. "Our goal is to not worry about it, but our goal is to get in to that situation again and handle it better," he said. Plus the Leafs have other things to think about, he suggested. "We want to get our game back to where it should be," McClement said. "Its not really something thats been brought up around here." Kadri said most of the memories had faded. "It was a little tough before the season started and kind of waiting all summer and just having to deal with it," he said. "Now that the seasons started and were kind of 15, 16 games into it, I think a lot of guys have forgotten about it. "Its still in the back of your head," he conceded, however. Reimer says the Boston meltdown can be used as motivation, although he insisted he was over it. "Its just a memory, its just something that happened in the past," he said. "Ive got lots of memories. Its just something you learn from. Its something you use to help you in every game, in every situation so far. Is it still there? Yeah. But its not a negative any more." "Its something that happened, but its not at the forefront of your thoughts at all," he added. Reimer, who had the night off Friday after Bernier started a 2-1 shootout win over the New Jersey Devils, arrives in fine form. He has a 4-1-0 record with 2.36 goals-against average and .942 save percentage despite facing a nightly barrage of shots. He made 43 saves last time out, some of the highlight-reel variety, losing 4-0 in Vancouver in a game that was not as close at the score indicated. It marked the 13th time in 15 games that Toronto has been outshot. Prior to that, he blanked the Edmonton Oilers 4-0 in another 43-save performance that marked his 11th career shutout and stopped 37 shots en route to a 4-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. ' ' '