Sweden National Football Team

Manager / Janne Andersson
Appointed / August 2016
Captain / Andreas Granqvist
Top Scorer in Euro 2020 Qualifiers / Robin Quaison, 7
Top Scorer in Squad (Domestic season 2020-21) / Alex Isak, 17 (Real Sociedad, La Liga)
Most Carded in qualifying /  Sebastian Larsson and Kristoffer Olsson, 2
Group: E, vs. Spain (14/06/2021), vs. Slovakia (18/06/2021), vs. Poland (23/06/2021)

* All odds displayed correct at the time of publishing *

Sweden Road to Euro 2020

Sweden got here fairly comfortably in what was a tricky group alongside Spain, Norway and Romania, losing just once in their 10 qualifying games. That loss did come in Spain as they were convincingly beaten 3-0 by the side they’ll start this tournament against two years ago. Times have changed since then with 21-year-old attackers Dejan Kulusevski and Alexander Isak coming into a game at domestic level, at least, for Juventus and Real Sociedad respectively. They fared less well in the Nations League however, losing five of their six games, including both ties against France and Portugal, only defeating Croatia yet still finishing bottom of their group. It was no coincidence either, Janne Andersson has struggled to blood his talented youngsters and has left them stuck between being their usual counter-attacking and reactive selves and being a bit more proactive to play to the considerable talents of Isak and Kulusevski.

Sweden Euro 2020 Squad

The great ‘Will they, won’t they?’ of our time has been cruelly ripped from our hands, as Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s protracted (tedious) return to the Sweden side has ended before it even started, with the 39-year-old ruled out of Euro 2020 through injury. He had been set to lead the line after a five-year hiatus from the national side, but the AC Milan striker’s knee injury prevented his glorious return. It might not be the worst news in the world, though as talented and still capable as Ibrahimovic is, he isn’t always the best suited to a side that will likely attempt to breakaway at pace.

Goalkeeper

The number one position is far from nailed down for the Swedes. Everton’s Robin Olsen had been the first-choice for until this season, though a lack of game time has given Genclerbirligi’s stopper Kristoffer Nordfeldt a chance to stake his claim. He started both World Cup qualifiers in March and kept a clean sheet against both Georgia and Kosovo, meaning it should be his jersey to lose barring any massive blunders in either of the two warm-up games ahead of the Spain match in Bilbao.

Defence

Ludwig Augustinsson and Victor Lindelof should find themselves comprising half of Sweden’s back four with Augustinsson one to keep an eye for his set-piece delivery, particularly if Sebastian Larsson and Viktor Claesson aren’t on the field. The other two defensive berths are little less nailed down with former Celtic star Mikael Lustig facing competition from Newcastle’s Emil Krafth at right-back, with Krafth ending the season well for the in-form Magpies. It would be interesting to see how the 34-year-old Lustig, a full-back who was never quick, deal with the likes of Mikel Oyarzabal and Kamil Jozwiak in the group stages should he be chosen to start against Spain and Poland. Who partners Lindelof is another issue, captain Andreas Granqvist is not getting any younger which opens the door for the likes of Filip Helander and Pontus Jansson to join the Man United centre back in defence. 

Midfield

With Ibrahimovic ruled out, we might see Juventus’ Kulusevski deployed in a central striking role, a position he has taken up often for his club side. If not, he should start out wide with RB Leipzig’s Emil Forsberg on the other flank, a good set of wide men that are more than capable of causing their share of problems. Albin Ekdal and Kristoffer Olsson will form the midfield two, a long-established partnership and one that will be relied upon to protect the four behind them, rather than make a difference in the final third.

Attack

The absence of Ibrahimovic need not be felt as strongly as it might’ve been had the tournament gone ahead last year. Isak is fresh off scoring 17 times for Real Sociedad in La Liga last season and there is talent around him that’s capable of bringing the best out of the 21-year-old. It could be Kulusevski pushed forward to support the Sociedad striker, but in Robert Quaison, Marcus Berg and Jordan Larsson, Andersson has a good crop of talent to choose from. It will be interesting to see who partners Isak, with Larsson being the beneficiary of Ibrahimovic’s injury, it would be nice to see him given a chance. He’s netted 15 times in 29 Russian Premier League games for Spartak Moscow this season, averaging 1.36 shots on target from just under 3 shots per game. That’s a fine record and one to keep an eye should the 23-year-old be given a chance.

Sweden predicted line-up vs. Spain: Nordfelt; Lustig, Lindelof, Helander, Augustinsson; Claesson, Ekdal, Olsson, Forsberg; Isak, Kulusevski (4-4-2).

Sweden Euro 2020 Betting Tips & Predictions

It’s a tricky group with their recent record against Spain not offering too much hope of toppling the top seeds.

It’s similarly tough to predict which two of the six 3^rd placed teams will fail to qualify for the Round of 16 but I could see Sweden being one of the unfortunate teams. I suspect they won’t have enough to get a result against Spain and in Poland they could easily concede a few in defeat with Robert Lewandowski always capable of obliterating even the most well set up sides. That does mean that anything less than a win against Slovakia and they’d almost certainly be out. They should have enough to get the win against Slovakia in between the two tougher tasks of Spain and Poland but three points and a possibly negative goal difference after substantial beatings at the hands of Lewandowski and the dangerous Spaniards could see them drop out at the first time of asking. At 2.63 (Paddy Power) for them to be eliminated in the groups, it does look an attractive price.

Predicted stage of elimination: Eliminated in the groups

Taking some of the risk away from that selection, and Sweden to finish third in Group E at 2.7 also looks encouraging and would cover them sneaking through to the knock-outs as one of the four best ranked 3^rd placed teams.

If you fancy Sweden to finish 3^rd in the group, then Poland to beat them in the final game of the group stage at 2.7 does look interesting to me, especially if Poland need to get a result.

How to watch Sweden v Slovakia Euro 2020

📅   When / Friday, 18 June 2021, 14:00 BST
🏟   Where / Gazprom Arena (Saint Petersburg)
📺   TV / BBC One, ZDF
📱   Online streaming / bet365