UEFA Euro 2020 - Group E analysis and prediction

Temas: UEFA Euro 2020, Spain, Poland, Sweden, Slovakia

Spain may be overwhelming favorites but could they be in for a surprise in the midst of Poland, Sweden and Slovakia?

The countdown is almost over with football fans set to be treated to spectacles in Europe across the next four weeks. With all the participants in this summer's tournament having fought for their respective places, no team can be written off easily.

A lot of intriguing match-ups are in the pipeline and these cannot be highlighted without bringing Group E into the equation. It features a three-time winner of the championship, a second-runner up in 1992, a quarter-finalist in 2016 and a country that is only making its second-ever appearance at the tournament. All in all, the group promises a lot of action and should be one for fans to keep a close eye on.

Which teams are involved in Group E?

Spain: Spain are easy favorites to top the pile in Group E considering their pedigree and the amount of top talents they have in their ranks. La Roja have tasted glory in the competition on three separate occasions - 1964, 2008, and 2012 - and despite their recent shortcomings in major tournaments, much is expected of the relatively young team assembled by Coach Luis Enrique. With the likes of David de Gea, Cesar Azpilicueta, Ferran Torres, Alvaro Morata and Gerard Moreno all securing places in the roster, their fans will hope that the withdrawal of skipper and veteran defender Sergio Ramos will not come with dire consequences.

Sweden: Sweden is one of the two sides expected to battle it out to make it in the quest for a place in the top two. They will head into their seventh European championship with the hopes of defying the odds and potentially coming close to their best-ever finish of securing a bronze medal at the 1992 finals. Achieving this with the evergreen Zlatan Ibrahimovic would have been epic but the omission of the AC Milan star due to injury could slightly affect their chances. However, in Victor Lindelof, Alexander Isak, Sebastian Larsson and Emil Forsberg, they may deliver a surprise package and punch above their weight.

Poland: Along with Sweden, Poland are expected to finish in the qualifying place for the knockout round when the ball is set rolling in Group E. They will be making their fourth-ever appearance at the Euros and will hope to build on their quarter-final elimination at the last edition. As to whether Robert Lewandowski can replicate his awe-inspiring form at Bayern Munich to fire them to glory remains to be seen.

Slovakia: Slovakia is the overwhelming underdog in Group E. However, what we have seen in the past is that anything can happen in a major tournament. Not too long ago, Iceland and Hungary won the hearts of football fans by defying the odds at a major tournament! Although it is their second-ever appearance in the championship, the likes of Milan Skriniar, Stanislav Lobotka (Napoli), Patrik Hrosovsky, and Laszlo Benes should be able to do enough to fly their country's flag very high.

Which cities will host Group E?

It is public knowledge that the Euro 2020 will not be played in one country. Group E of the tournament will take place in both Saint Petersburg's Krestovsky Stadium and Seville's La Cartuja. Initially, the matches were scheduled to be hosted at Bilbao's San Mamés and Dublin's Aviva Stadium. However, as a result of the lack of guarantees regarding spectators caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, UEFA had the group stage games being reallocated to the current venues.

Group E prediction

Spain have shown in the past few years that they have learnt their lessons from past failures and, as a result, we expect them to secure top-spot in Group E. It is a close one between Sweden and Poland for the No.2 slot but we will lean towards the latter taking into account the X-factor Robert Lewandowski can bring. But that is not to completely write off Slovakia who could offer a surprise package to progress to the knockout phase.