Euro 2020 round of 16: Sweden vs. Ukraine preview, predictions and team news
Sweden’s 3-2 win against Poland also secured qualification for Ukraine
Thanks to Sweden’s dramatic 3-2 victory over Poland in the group stage Ukraine qualified for the round of 16 as one of the best third-placed teams. Now, as fate would have it, Ukraine play Sweden at Hampden Park in Glasgow.
Mykola Shaparenko revealed that the Ukraine squad “supported Sweden so much” in their match against Poland and his fellow midfielder Andriy Yarmolenko said: “I want to thank Sweden but now we will play against them. We’ll try to play our football and show our best level. We haven’t demonstrated our top performance here yet.”
Goalkeeper Georgiy Bushchan admitted that “lady luck” was kind to Ukraine but “we’ll try to use this second chance”. He added: “Sweden earned seven points in a very tough group. This team deserves all our respect.”
Sweden head coach Janne Andersson described his players as “warriors” after finishing top of group E. “They are fantastic players and the way they sacrificed themselves for each other – the team as a whole deserves all the praise they get,” he said. “Now we get a few more days’ rest than we would have done otherwise. It’s a fantastic feeling.”
The winners of this tie will play England or Germany in the quarter-finals in Rome on Saturday 3 July.
Kick-off time and TV details
The round of 16 clash between Sweden and Ukraine takes place on Tuesday 29 June at Hampden Park in Glasgow. Kick-off is at 8pm (BST) and the match is live on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
Sweden team news
Will Dejan Kulusevski get a starting spot or be kept as a potential super sub, asks Sujay Dutt, Uefa.com’s Sweden reporter. Kulusevski provided two assists after coming on as a sub in the 3-2 win against Poland.
Sweden possible starting XI: Olsen; Lustig, Lindelöf, Danielson, Augustinsson; S. Larsson, Ekdal, Olsson, Forsberg; Isak, Quaison
Ukraine team news
The left side of the Ukraine attack is Andriy Shevchenko’s biggest concern, says Uefa.com reporter Bogdan Buga. Viktor Tsygankov and Olexandr Zubkov have both had calf issues and Ruslan Malinovskyi deputised in the group games against North Macedonia and Austria.
Ukraine possible starting XI: Bushchan; Karavaev, Zabarnyi, Matviyenko, Mykolenko; Malinovskyi, Sydorchuk, Zinchenko; Yarmolenko, Yaremchuk, Tsygankov
Pundit predictions: who will win?
Tom Hamilton, ESPN: “With the outstanding [Alexander] Isak one of the players of the tournament so far, expect Sweden to get through to the quarter-finals, but this will be a match where there will be plenty of shadow boxing before we get a knockout blow.”
Mike Tuckerman, The Roar: “The football gods have smiled on Sweden. After their stoppage-time win against Poland, their reward is a clash with a serviceable but unspectacular Ukraine in Glasgow. With so much momentum behind them, it’s hard to see Sweden lose this one.”
Steve Luckings, The National: “A moment of quality could settle what is likely to be a close encounter. Prediction: Sweden, just.”
