Sweden vs Ukraine
Sweden vs Ukraine is the last of the round of 16 matches of Euro 2020 and takes place on June 29 in Hampden Park, Glasgow. Sweden qualified for the knockout stages by virtue of winning Group E, while Ukraine squeaked through finishing third place in Group C and having the fourth best record of all third placed teams. Read on for more analysis, match predictions and betting tips.
Form
Pre-tournament Sweden were not expected to win their group but a draw with group favourites Spain and a last-gasp win over Poland ensured that Janne Andersson’s team booked their place in the last 16 as group winners. Sweden have now won seven of their eight games this calendar year and have only conceded three goals - two of them to Poland. It’s a far cry from a fairly horrific 2020 which saw them only win twice in eight games - and they haven’t even needed Zlatan to help them in this tournament. How long can this juggernaut keep going?
Ukraine’s better goal difference was the deciding factor in what ensured they qualified for the knockout stages; and now they face a real test to see if they can go any further. They have only won of their group stage games - against the weakest team in the tournament North Macedonia - and have only won five of their last 17 internationals. Yet Ukraine are only ranked six places below their opponents, and as they showed in the 3-2 defeat against the Netherlands, they are no pushovers.
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Injuries
Sweden have no injury worries going into this game and head coach Janne Andersson should have a full squad to choose from. While they have not lit the tournament alight with attacking prowess, RB Leipzig attacking midfielder Emil Forsberg has three goals in the tournament so far and is one of five players in joint second place trailing Cristiano Ronaldo for the Golden Shoe. Much attention has been paid to the young Real Sociedad forward Alexander Isak in the absence of Ibrahimovic but it could be that Forsberg is the real talisman in this side.
Ferencvaros midfielder Oleksandr Zubkov is a doubt for this game having come off injured in the opening match against Netherlands, and Ukraine coach Andriy Shevchenko may once again have to turn to Atalanta star Ruslan Malinovskyi in his place with Shakhtar Donetsk winger Marlos only returning from the bench in the defeat to Austria. Key players for Ukraine will be skipper Andriy Yarmolenko and Gent striker Roman Yaremchuk, who both have two goals for Ukraine in this tournament.
Match Predictions
This has been a tough one to call for the bookies, with odds against Sweden winning in 90 minutes trading at around 2.40 while Ukraine are as low as 2.20 to qualify. It’s been nine years since these teams last met in Group D of Euro 2012, and Ukraine were victorious that time winning 2-1. However, that match featured much different line ups and was at the home of Ukrainian football in Kyiv; this will be a much different story. The over/under goals market might be the place to check for betting tips - Sweden have been really tight at the back this year. Is that trend going to continue?
