SWEDEN face Poland in a crunch Group E in St Petersburg, with the Poles needing three points to reach the knockout stages.
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- Sweden XI: Olsen, Augustinsson, Danielson, Ekdal, Lindelof, Olsson, Quaison, Isak, Larsson, Lustig, Forsberg.
- Poland XI: Szczesny, Bednarek, Glik, Puchacz, Klich, Bereszynski, Krychowiak, Swiderski, Jozwiach, Zielinski, Lewandowski.
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SWEDEN 1-0 POLAND
6. The Swedes keep on coming, and Poland are finding it increasingly to get out of their own half.
As it stands, Janne Andersson’s men are going to top the group to set up a Last 16 date at Hampden Park with opposition as yet unknown.
SWEDEN 1-0 POLAND
4. How will Poland react now? Paulo Sousa’s team now need two goals to have any hope of qualifying, and, at the moment, they look somewhat shellshocked.
SWEDEN 1-0 POLAND
2. Sweden lead thanks to the earliest goal of these European Championships!
Emil Forsberg is the man on target again, taking advantage of Alexander Isak’s tenacity on the edge of the box, and then Kamil Jozwiak’s air clearance inside it.
As soon as the Derby man had missed his kick, Forsberg had the opportunity to move in and strike at goal, and he didn’t disappoint.
His shot is fierce, low and past Wojciech Szszesny before the goalkeeper has a chance to touch the ball.
A tough task for Poland just got much harder.
GOOOOOOAAAAAAALLLLL!!
EMIL FORSBERG FIRES SWEDEN INTO AN EARLY LEAD!!SWEDEN 0-0 POLAND
1. The referee ensures the clocks are synced with Seville, and then blows to set Sweden off for their final game.
The Group E leaders are in their customary yellow and blue, Poland are in all red.
PEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!
IT’S GAME TIME!HERE COME THE TEAMS!
It’s an array of Englishmen that lead the sides out in Saint Petersburg. Referee Michael Oliver and his assistants, Stuart Burt and Simon Bennett, are the men in charge this afternoon.
Then it’s Sebastian Larsson, the man set to become Sweden’s fourth-most capped player this afternoon, that heads the Scandinavians emerging from the tunnel.
The Poland players are quickly out and in line to sing their national anthem with gusto. The likes of Lewandowski, Szczesney and Krychowiak look pumped.
SECOND HALF SWEDES
While Poland will want hit the front foot early, don’t expect an early goal from Sweden.
A whopping 88% of the goals scored by the Blue and Yellow at European Championships have come in the second half of games (23 of 26). It’s the highest percentage of any country with at least three goals at the tournament.
KICK-OFF APPROACHING
It’s not long until the action gets underway in both Russia and Spain, and the stadiums are beginning to fill up.
Already certain of a place in the knockout stages, the Sweden fans appear in relaxed mood ahead of kick-off.
There are more nerves amid the decent-sized Polish contingent. How they’d love an early goal to help settle their worries.
MIND THE GAP
I’m not sure these Poland fans have made the best attempt as staying socially distant inside the Saint Petersburg Stadium.
Other seats remain available.
ISAK IMPRESSES
The one Sweden player to really catch the eye during what have been otherwise pragmatic performances is Alexander Isak of Real Sociedad.
La Liga’s Young Player of the Year has shown himself to the rest of the continent to be a real attacking threat, who isn’t afraid to take players on.
Isak completed six dribbles in the 1-0 win over Slovakia, the most by a Swedish player in a European Championship since Tomas Brolin completed seven against Denmark at Euro ’92.
The forward’s ability was praised by Gary Lineker after that match, but as the accompanying video shows, the 21-year-old wasn’t overly impressed by news of his English fan. Do they not have Walkers Crisps in Sweden?!
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CAPTAIN MARVEL
Captain. Leader. Legend. Words undoubtedly overused these days, but ones that could certainly be applied to Robert Lewandowski.
The Poland skipper holds the record for both the most caps (121) and goals (67) for his country, and has given them a chance of qualification this evening following his marvellous headed equaliser against Spain four days ago.
Lewandowski has been in sensational form for club and country over the past year, having been directly involved in 14 goals in his last 12 starts for Poland (10 goals, four assists). The striker is also currently level with Jakub Blaszczykowski on three European Championship goals, the joint-most by any Polish player.
DEFEAT FOR SWEDES WOULD BE A TURN-IP
When getting to the root of the record between these nations, it seems Sweden have been making mashed potatoes of Poland for far too long.
The Scandinavian side have won nine of their last 11 matches against the Poles (D1 L1), including each of the last five; the Eagles haven’t beaten Sweden in 30 years since a 2-0 friendly win in Gdansk back in August 1991.
However, their only previous encounter at a major tournament was won by Poland as they famously finished third at the 1974 World Cup. Their second round tie was settled by a single goal scored by Golden Boot winner Grzegorz Lato.
And if you’re thinking Sweden will be content to sit back this evening and play for another 0-0 draw, it’s worth bearing in mind that none of the previous 26 matches between these countries have ended goalless.
POLAND SUBSTITUTES
12 Skorupski, 22 Fabianski, 3 Dawidowicz, 4 Kedziora, 6 Kozlowski, 8 Linetty, 13 Rybus, 17 Placheta, 19 Frankowski, 23 Kownacki, 24 Swierczok, 25 Helik
POLAND XI
Poland also make one change from their 1-1 draw in Seville. Grzegorz Krychowiak returns from his one-match ban to replace Brighton’s injured Jakub Moder in midfield. The Lokomotiv Moscow man’s return allows for a slight shift in shape to 3-4-2-1 with Karol Swiderski and Piotr Zielinksi ready to support Robert Lewandowski in attack. Tymoteusz Puchacz and Kamil Jozwiak will patrol the flank while Southampton’s Jan Bednarek will help hold things together at the back.
1 Szczesny; 18 Bereszynski, 15 Glik, 5 Bednarek; 21 Jozwiak, 10 Krychowiak, 14 Klich, 26 Puchacz; 11 Swiderski, 20 Zielinski; 9 Lewandowski
SWEDEN SUBSTITUTES
12 Johnsson, 23 Nordfeldt, 5 Bengtsson, 9 Berg, 13 Svensson, 14 Helander, 15 Sema, 16 Krafth, 17 Claesson, 18 Jansson, 21 Kulusevski, 26 Cajuste
SWEDEN XI
It’s one change for Sweden for their final Group E game. Robin Quaison made an impact off the bench against Slovakia, winning their late penalty, and is rewarded with a start in attack alongside Alexander Isak. Meanwhile, Albin Ekdal has recovered from his knock and continues in central midfield, meaning Janne Andersson can proceed with his tried-and-tested 4-4-2 formation. Sebastian Larsson captains the Swedes as he wins his 131 cap for his country.
1 Olsen; 2 Lustig, 3 Lindelof, 24 Danielson, 6 Augustinsson; 7 S Larsson, 20 Olsson, 8 Ekdal, 10 Forsberg; 22 Quaison, 11 Isak
THE TEAMSHEETS ARE IN!
GOOD AFTERNOON
Welcome to Saint Petersburg for our live coverage of Sweden against Poland, one of the final round of Group E matches at Euro 2020.
While Spain and Slovakia slog it out in Seville for a place in the knockout stages, the Swedes can sit back – as has become their custom – knowing that their place in the Round of 16 is already secure.
A draw and a win without conceding has confirmed their progression, but another win here will ensure top spot and a game in Glasgow next Tuesday against one of the best third-place finishers.
Yet a success is far from certain, especially given the Blue and Yellow’s shortcomings up front; despite boasting one of the tournament’s standout attacking performers in Alexander Isak, Emil Forsberg’s late penalty against the Slovakians is all they have to show so far in the goals for column.
And this teatime, they face a Poland team for whom nothing more than three points will do.
Paulo Sousa’s team have given themselves hope after getting off the mark with a crucial point in Spain on Saturday.
Unsurprisingly, Robert Lewandowski was the man who rose to the big occasion – and over Aymeric Laporte at the back post – and the Poles will again be looking to their captain to fire them through to the next stage.
Grzegorz Krychowiak is back from suspension after his red card in the shock 2-1 defeat to Slovakia, but there are doubts over the Premier league pair of Jan Bednarek and Jakub Moder.
Meanwhile, Sweden’s Albin Ekdal missed training earlier this week, but is expected to overcome a minor issue to start his third game of these championships in midfield.
The official team news is up next, and then we’ll have all the build-up ahead of the 5pm kick-off in Russia.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
