England’s World Cup final referee Howard Webb has found himself at the centre of a war of words between Portugal and Sweden ahead of the make or break qualifier in Scandinavia.

Webb – who refereed the 2010 final between Spain and Holland in South Africa – will take charge of Tuesday's game at the Friends Arena with Portugal leading by a single goal after the first leg in Lisbon.

The tie has long been billed as a straight shoot-out between Cristiano Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, only one of whom can realise the dream of playing in next summer’s finals in Brazil.

Man in the middle: Howard Webb will take charge of the World Cup qualifier between Sweden and Portugal

Star attractions: Zlatan Ibrahimovic (above) and Cristiano Ronaldo (below) train at the Friends Arena

But the build-up turned rather ugly as attention shifted away from the two modern icons with both teams putting pressure on Webb to referee the game to their advantage.

Swedish midfielder Sebastian Larsson started it early on Monday by suggesting that Webb would not fall for the ‘tricks’ of Ronaldo and his Portuguese team mates.

Larsson said: '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.

'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.'

In demand: Sweden's Sebastian Larsson talks to the media ahead of the crucial qualifier

Experience: Webb took charge of the 2010 World Cup final between Spain and the Netherlands

No nonsense: Howard Webb books Cristiano Ronaldo for diving against Blackburn in 2009

Portugal, though, were quick to counter as coach Paulo Bento suggested Webb would be more likely to spot Swedish play acting and identified Norwich striker Johan Elmander as a culprit from the first leg.

'Am I angry or resentful of opponents thinking this about my players?' he said.

'No, I don’t have a problem with it.

'I also don’t believe that a referee like Howard Webb doesn’t see a situation like the one involving Elmander in the goal area on Friday.

'He pretended that he was fouled. He dived.'

No looking: Ronaldo looks to the side as he kicks the ball during Portugal's training session

Jokers: Portugal players Raul Meireles (left), Nani (centre) and Ricardo Costa have a laugh during training

Limbering up: Portugal defender Pepe stretches along with his team-mates

With so much at stake, it was perhaps not surprising that the pre-match exchanges got a little tetchy. Whoever loses, we can expect to see some toys disappearing from the pram.

Portugal are perhaps slight favourites after Ronaldo’s late header at Estadio da Luz gave them an advantage but Sweden did look dangerous on the counter in Lisbon and will look to Ibrahimovic – who didn’t touch the ball in the Portuguese penalty area all night – to be more effective.

Ronaldo himself was a relaxed figure as he trained with his team-mates in plunging temperatures and he will certainly have no problems playing under the eye of a referee he knows well from his time in England with Manchester United.

Earlier this year, the Portuguese captain said: 'The truth is I like this referee a lot.

'He is English, he has refereed many of my games there and I like him.'

Floater: Zlatan Ibrahimovic (centre) bounces up and down as Sebastian Larsson (left) and Per Nilsson look on

Cheeky grin: Sweden's head coach Erik Hamren shares a joke as his players gather round at training

Asked last night about the game, he added: 'Portugal have a small advantage, but we are expecting a very difficult game. We are ready.

'We will have to be fully focused. More than anything else, these players want to be in Brazil, so we will give our best to get there.'

Bento is certainly no stranger to controversy when it comes to referees. The Portugal coach served a five-match ban when, as a player, he was found to have verbally intimidated an official during Portugal’s heated Euro 2000 defeat to France.

Before training, Bento called his players together for a minute’s silent reflection in memory of a Portuguese Under-20 player, Alex Marques, who collapsed and died playing for his club Tourizense in a domestic Division Three game on Sunday.

Remembering: The Portugal squad hold a minute's silence in memory of Alex Marques who died on Sunday

Winner: Ronaldo scored on Friday to give Portugal a 1-0 lead over Sweden heading into the second leg