Spain have won the Eurus 3 times, in 1964, 2008 and 2012 (joint most with Germany), though have disappointed in recent major tournaments having exit in the group stage at the 2014 World Cup and at thee last 16 stage in the 2016 Euros and 2018 World Cup. Their recent form in general has been very hit and miss with draws against Switzerland, Greece and Portugal. Though last year they put in an extremely impressive performance when they beat Germany 6-0. Undefeated in qualifying with 8 wins and 2 draws they suffered no real moments of concern in qualifying. Recent preparation has been far from ideal though, with a recent game against Lithuania having to be played by their U21 side as the senior squad went into self isolation due to Sergio Busquets testing positive for Covid-19. Whilst the Spanish squad selection was one of the more controversial team selections at this tournament, there is no denying they are a team full of talent and they will be a threat to all at this tournament.
Sweden reached the semi-finals of Euro 1992 as the host nation, though this team looks to have their work cut out to get close to matching those achievements. They played Spain in qualifying for this tournament, losing 3-0 and drawing 1-1. They struggled in the Nations League, losing 2-1 to Croatia, 3-0 to Portugal and 4-2 to France, though they did beat Croatia 2-1 in their home tie. They come here having won 5 in a row, though those wins came against Georgia, Kosovo, Estonia, Finland and Armenia, so the substance seems to be lacking some what.
The referee for this game is Slavko Vincic (Slovenia). This season he has taken charge of 9 games, giving 26 yellow cards and no red cards, for an average of 2.89 yellow cards per game. In his career to date he has refereed 36 games, awarding 144 yellow cards and 4 red cards, for an average of 4 yellow cards per game and 0.11 red cards per game.
This is a Spanish side who have been slightly underwhelming in recent games, but they are a squad littered with class and experience all over the pitch, and we see this being a tough afternoon for Sweden. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Sweden get on the scoresheet, though we see Spain scoring 3 or 4 goals and cruising to an opening game win.
