With just five days to go before the clash between Sweden and Ireland at the Friends Arena, there wasn't a blade of grass to be seen - the pitch was covered with a thick layer of ice for the finals of the winter port of bandy.

In fact, the only thing green was the stadium's exterior which joined other iconic structures like the Empire State building and the Sydney Opera House as they were turned green to celebrate St Patrick's Day.

I shot some footage from within the stadium to show the ice, plus some interviews from Tuesday of this week (March 12) with Sweden coach Erik Hamren and team manager Lars Richt, who told me what they thought of the pitch and the short turnaround time before the crucial World Cup qualifier against Ireland.

I also wrote a story for Reuters, which you can read here:
http://yhoo.it/ZKMQn9