Euro 2020 Report: Spain 0 - 0 Sweden

Spain was met with an ultra-resilient Sweden side who mounted an extremely effective defensive display which ultimately led to a 0-0 score line at the Estadio La Cartuja in Seville on Monday night.

The pace of the game throughout was often fairly pedestrian due to the extremely high temperature, but Spain will be more than disappointed that they did not gain the full three points on home soil. 

They started the game very much on the front foot and Koke, an Atletico Madrid midfielder not renowned for scoring, was unable to convert any of the three chances he had in the opening 20 minutes.

They enjoyed 81% possession during the opening 25 minutes but a lack of firepower up front, one of their main concerns heading into the tournament, meant that they were unable to break down the Swedish defence.

Sweden’s lack of ambition in the attacking half of the pitch was exemplified by the fact that it took them 20 minutes to launch their first attack on goal, and that attack merely consisted of a long throw from Victor Lindelof which was easily cleared by the Spanish defence.

The best chance of the first half fell to Alvaro Morata in the 37^th minute, a mistake by defender Marcus Danielson meant the ball fell to Morata in the box, and even though he only had the keeper to beat he took the wrong option and did not even hit the target with his shot.

Sweden had only sporadic forays into the Spanish box but on one occasion when they did go forward, quick footed striker Alerxander Isak hit the post with a shot, the rebound falling kindly into the arms of Spanish keeper Unai Simon.

The same pattern of play emerged in the second half, Spain totally dominant, playing the ball from side to side but lacking the cutting edge to really trouble Everton keeper Olsen in the Swedish goal.

At the three-quarter stage of the match, Spain had 13 attempts on goal while Sweden had only four attempts, albeit it that one of those chances in the 61^st minute could have given them a shock lead, again great approach play by Isak but his strike partner Marcus Berg was unable to sort his feet and the chance was lost.

Both managers made a raft of substitutions in the closing stages, Spain’s did not add any real value while Sweden’s did in that the fresh legs allowed them to continue to defend with tremendous discipline and thwart Spain right up to the final whistle.

Spain did have one last chance in the 93^rd minute but in keeping with the overall story of the match, substitute strike Sarabia was unable to react quickly enough to Jordi Alba’s great cross and the ball merely bounced off him and went wide.

Overall Spain will feel hard done by that they did not win but in truth their lack of a lethal goal scorer was the principal reason they only picked up one point, while great credit has to go to Sweden for their ability to defend with such diligence over the 96 mins.

Spain: Unai Simon (gk), Pau Torres, Aymeric Laporte, Jordi Alba, Ferran Torres (Mikel Oyarzabal, 72), Koke (Fabian Ruiz Pena, 87) Dani Olmo (Gerad Moreno, 72) Marcos Llorente, Rodri (Thiago Alacantra , 65), Alvaro Morato ( Pablo Sarabia , 65), Pedri.

Subs not used: David de Gea (gk), Robert Sanchez (gk), Diego Llorente, Jose Luis Gaya, Eric Garcia, Cesar Azpillicueta, Sergio Busquets, Adama Traore.

Sweden: Robin Olsen (gk), Ludwig Augustinsson, Marcus Danielson, Victor Lindelof, Michael Lustig (Emil Kraft, 75), Albin Ekdal, Emil Forsberg (Pierre Bengtsson, 84) Sebastian Larsson, Kristoffer Olsson (Jens Cajuste, 84), Marcus Berg (Robin Quaison, 69), Alexander Isak (Viktor Claesson, 69).

Subs not used: Karl- Johan Johsson (gk), Kristoffer Nordfeldt, Pierre Bengtsson, Andreas Granqvist, Filip Helander, Pontus Jansson, Emil Krafth, Jens Cajuste, Viktor Claesson, Dejan Kulusevski, Ken Sema, Gustav Svensson, Mattias Svanberg, Robert Quaison

Booked: Mikel Lustig (54).

Referee: Slavko Vincic (Slovenia).

Extratime.com Player of the Match: Robin Olsen (Sweden).