June 14, (THEWILL)-Â In a Euros 2020 match that could have benefitted from the presence of Sweden’s iconic veteran, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the Swedes were forced to graft from the start as a relentless Spain marshalled a persistent formation that fervently probed for a chink in their compact defensive unit.
The Group E fixture between Spain and Sweden, which had the record-setting Pedri become Spain’s youngest ever Euro appearance-maker at 18 years, 201 days, saw Luis Enrique’s new-look Spain held by Sweden on home soil in La Cartuja Stadium, Seville.
That the game ended in a deadlock does not tell the full story of the chances Spain had to claim victory. It began when Dani Olmo produced the first real test for the Blågults. Unfortunately, his glanced effort from a precision Koke cross was superbly kept out by a precise reaction-save from Robin Olsen, in the Swede goal post.
It was to be the repeated occurrence of the fixture. The provider of Olmos’s attempt, Koke, tried himself to open the scoring twice with the determination to open his international goal-scoring account. Yet, it was not to be as both chances were off the target with the Swedes making life difficult for Spanish strikers.
Alvaro Morata was next to give trying to score a go but, though he had the best chance of the opening half, he dragged his attempt wide of the goal, which did nothing to disturb the attentive Olsen and the compact defense.
At the other end of the pitch, Enrique’s solid defense also was at work to smother the occasional Swedish incursions into their area before it became a threat as the Swedes picked up the pace as the game wore on.
The wasted opportunities that Spain did not bury almost came back to haunt them with the quick-footed Alexander Isak, who breezed into the defense area and laid an inviting pass to Marcus Berg in second half, but the veteran striker could only scoop frustratingly over, much to Spain’s relief but to Isak’s disbelief.
Enrique was going for victory when he introduced attacking reinforcements with Gerald Moreno and Mikel Oyarzabal coming in to spark the attack to bite but Jan Andersson’s charges clung on to avoid any late drama and ensured a flat sharing of the points.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
