Sweden look to upset European royalty Spain, with both looking to get off to a winning start

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Spain begin their European Championship journey on home soil in the blistering heat of Seville, with Sweden posing a tricky opening test.

La Roja are looking to win their third European Championship out of the last four tournaments, but many think their golden era of dominance in international football is over. Luis Enrique’s squad will be hoping to prove the doubters wrong.

Without their imposing talisman, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Sweden looks like a potentially timid opposition. However, Alexander Isak looks to fill the shoes of Sweden’s ponytailed hero.

Squad news:

Spain:

Sergio Busquets and Diego Llorente will not feature in the opening game as both players tested positive for COVID-19, causing problems in the camp as the under 21 team had to play a warm-up fixture against Lithuania.

The Spanish squad were in isolation for the Lithuania match until the close contacts of Llorente and Busquets could be established. It seems unlikely that the team will be able to train as a full group before the game against Sweden.

To combat any future coronavirus worries, the Spanish FA and Government decided to vaccinate the whole squad, which has taken place on the 11th June.

Despite attempting to alleviate the future risk of COVID-19 issues in the squad, if the players were to react to the vaccine, then Sweden would be given the upper hand.

Sweden:

The Swedes have their own COVID-19 problems, with Dejan Kulusevski and Mattias Svanberg testing positive on Monday.

Although none of the Swedish squad have since returned a positive test, any more COVID cases in the squad may lead to a postponement. If either side cannot fulfil the fixture the opposition will be awarded a 3-0 victory.

Despite the disruption in the squad, Janne Andersson will be hoping Alexander Isak and Marcus Berg can fire Sweden to victory, while Robin Olsen keeps Spain at bay.

Last time out:

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Spain and Sweden last faced each other in qualification for Euro 2020. Both teams battled out for the top spot in Group F, which Spain ultimately conquered.

After losing 3-0 to La Roja in the first Group F clash between the two sides back in June 2019, Sweden were hoping for a positive result when Spain travelled to the Friends Arena in Solna.

Spain dominated on the night, having 75% of the possession and 15 shots, but they came up against an inspired Robin Olsen.

Marcus Berg headed Sweden into a 50th-minute lead, a goal that was completely against the run of play.

However, La Roja salvaged a point at the death thanks to Leeds United striker Rodrigo converting Fabian Ruiz’s timely pullback.

A point was enough to see Spain, then managed by Robert Moreno, qualify for Euro 2020. Sweden qualified exactly a month later, with a 2-0 away win over Romania.

Head-to-head:

These nations have played against each other 14 times, with Spain winning six matches, Sweden winning three with five draws.

Janne Andersson boasts a 50.91% win ratio as Sweden manager, as he led his nation to a sixth consecutive European Championship. Luis Enrique is back for his second spell as boss of La Roja and has a slightly weaker record with a 46.15% win ratio.

Spain lack vital preparation after the main squad missed out on Spain’s final warm-up game against Lithuania. The last time the first team played was a 0-0 draw against Portugal on June 4th, in which Aymeric Laporte made his debut.

Sweden’s last fixture was a 3-1 victory over Armenia on June 5th. Goals from Emil Forsberg, Marcus Danielson and Marcus Berg secured a win, with Vahan Bichakhchyan scoring a consolation for Armenia.

La Roja are unbeaten in seven games, while Sweden has not lost in five, so both teams will hope to carry their good form into the Euros.

Euro 2008 throwback: Sweden 1-2 Spain

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These two nations went up against each other in the group stages of Euro 2008, with Spain winning to send them through to the knockout stages. Spain were the eventual winners of the competition.

Fernando Torres shot Spain into a 15th-minute lead after a neat short corner routine involving David Silva found the former Liverpool striker.

Zlatan Ibrahimović equalised for Sweden in the 34th minute when he latched onto a cross from the right-hand side and showed neat footwork to finish past Iker Casillas.

It was David Villa who broke Swedish hearts with a 92nd-minute winner. The former Valencia star broke onto a long ball forwards and calmly slotted the ball past Andres Isaksson.

Sweden were eliminated from the tournament, whilst Spain won the first tournament in their international footballing dynasty.

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