Spain vs Sweden: History firmly on Spain's side ahead of June 14th clash

Topics: TV Schedules, Spain, Sweden, UEFA EURO 2020

Spain will be hoping to kick off their EURO 2020 campaign in resounding fashion as they take on Sweden - a team they've enjoyed success against in the past - on Monday, June 14th.

Preview: Spain vs Sweden

After a difficult past few years, Spain will be looking to re-assert themselves this summer at EURO 2020. La Roja have seen their reputation take a major hit, especially with their showings at recent international tournaments. The European giants suffered humiliating early exits at the 2014 and 2018 World Cups as well as experienced disappointment at the 2016 EURO Championship.

However, they're now under the guidance of a new manager, who has overseen an eight match unbeaten run since Spain were beaten 1-0 by minnows Ukraine in a shock Nations League loss last October, and hopes are high that this Spain squad under Luis Enrique may be able to banish the demons from past tournaments and usher in a new era of success.

That being said, Enrique's squad selection raised quite a bit of eyebrows, as well as definite consternation among Real Madrid supporters. For the first time in seemingly ages, there are no players who play for Los Blancos in the national team heading into a major tournament. That includes even veteran defender Sergio Ramos, who's currently the most-capped active player.

Spain recently had to field their under-21 squad for a pre-tournament friendly against Lithuania as the entire first team had to go into isolation due to Sergio Busquet's positive COVID-19 test. The youngsters got the job done in resounding fashion, cruising to a 4-0 win over the Eastern European minnows to maintain Spain's unbeaten streak, and now, fortunately, the first team will be able to come out of isolation just in time for this upcoming clash.

As for Sweden, the Blågult were hoping to have Zlatan Ibrahimovic leading the line for this match, but unfortunately the experienced striker will miss out after suffering an injury setback while featuring for AC Milan this season. That means that Janne Andersson will look to other options, although he's been dealt a blow with young Juventus striker Dejan Kulusevski set to miss this upcoming game due to illness.

Sweden have endured quite their fair share of disappointment at EURO competitions for well over a decade. They've not made it out of their group since 2004, and have won just one of their last eight games at this tournament. To make matters worse, they've kept just one clean sheet in their last 12 meetings with Spain. Will La Roja be able to exploit that to set themselves up nicely in a quartet that also includes a Poland side led by the free-scoring Robert Lewandowski and unknown factor Slovakia?

Team news: Spain vs Sweden

Spain: Team skipper Sergio Busquets will miss this one due to a positive COVID-19 diagnosis. However, Diego Llorente could return to the fold after recently testing negative for the same condition.

Sweden: Dejan Kulusevski and Mattias Svanberg have recently tested positive for COVID-19 so will miss this match.

Match facts: Spain vs Sweden

Spain are featuring at their 11th EURO championship, while Sweden are featuring in their seventh EURO tournament
Sweden have kept just one clean sheet in their last 12 meetings with Spain (2-0 in October 2006). It was also the last time the Blågult beat La Roja
This will be the fourth meeting between Spain and Sweden at a major international tournament
So far, Spain have won two of those meetings (WC 1978, EURO 2008) and Sweden one (WC 1950)
Spain have won just one of their last five opening games at an international tournament (1-0 vs. Czech Republic at EURO 2016)
Sweden have won just one of their last eight games at a EURO tournament (D1 L6)
The Blågult have also failed to make it out of the group stages at their last three EURO competitions. The last time they made it to the knockout rounds was in 2004