Sweden (SWE) meets Ukraine (UKR) in the final Euro 2020 last 16 fixture. A gritty performance in the first round steered The Blue and Yellow team to the knockout stages. They grabbed a 0-0 draw against Spain, pipped Slovakia, and picked up three points in a five-goal thriller against Poland. If Sweden finished top of their group, Andriy Shevchenko’s men managed to pick up only a lone victory in Group C. Ukraine made it to the last 16 courtesy finishing fourth in the best third-placed team rankings.
Despite conceding twice against Poland, the defence remains Sweden’s biggest strength. Victor Lindelof and Marcus Danielson have been one of the standout centre-back pairs in Euro 2020. Meanwhile, both Emil Forsberg and Dejan Kulusevski were outstanding against Poland. Forsberg struck a brace, and Kulusevski created two goals. Janne Andersson, Sweden head coach, would be keen to see young forward Alexander Isak getting his reward for the impressive work rate in the tournament so far.
Ukraine fans will be hoping Andriy Yarmolenko and Roman Yaremchuk can inspire their team to the quarter-finals. Both players didn’t create many opportunities against Austria and face an even tough challenge against a resolute Sweden backline. Manchester City’s Oleksandr Zinchenko and Mykola Shaparenko will hope to boss the midfield, while the back four have to be at their best to keep Sweden players at arm’s length.
Head-to-Head
Played: 4
SWE won: 1
UKR won: 2
Drawn: 1
Top Five Fantasy Points scorers (Euro 2020 Group Stage)
SWE: E Forsberg (40 pts), R Olsen (19.5 pts), V Lindelof (19 pts), M Lustig (17 pts), L Augustinsson (16.5 pts)
UKR: A Yarmolenko (32 pts), R Yaremchuk (29.5 pts), G Bushchan (21 pts), O Karavayev (16 pts), O Zinchenko (13 pts)
Euro 2020 Stats
Top Goalscorer: SWE- E Forsberg (3 goals); UKR – A Yarmolenko, R Yaremchuk (2 goals)
Most Assists: SWE- D Kulusevski (2 assists); UKR – R Malinovskyi, R Yaremchuk, A Yarmolenko, O Karavaev (1 assist)
Most Passes Completed: SWE – V Lindelof (89 passes); UKR – M Matviyenko (156 passes)
Most Successful Tackles: SWE – S Larsson (5 tackles); UKR – M Shaparenko (6 tackles)
Shots Saved: SWE – M Olsen (10 saves); UKR – G Bushchan (11 saves)
Injuries/Suspensions
SWE: none
UKR: O Zubkov (injured), D Popov (doubtful)
Playing 11
SWE (possible): R Olsen; M Lustig, V Lindelof, M Danielson, L Augustinsson; S Larsson, A Ekdal, K Olsson, E Forsberg; A Isak, R Quaison
UKR (possible): G Bushchan; O Karavayev, I Zabarnyi, M Matviyenko, V Mykolenko; R Malinovskyi, S Sydorchuk, O Zinchenko; A Yarmolenko, R Yaremchuk, V Tsygankov
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Parameswaran Sankaranarayanan
Parameswaran Sankaranarayan is a sports enthusiast who has worked in print, website, and other digital platforms. He was part of the editorial team of first-ever Indian football-based website - IndianFootball.com (now defunct) - and passionately follows the latest happenings in world football. During his time as a journalist, he had the opportunity to interact with some of the iconic personalities in Indian sports and witness some memorable moments in Indian football.
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