In any case, the fear of embarrassment is real with the three-time European champion. “It’s a game of life and death,” said Cesar Azpilicueta and promised the fans full commitment. Poland faces a similar situation in the parallel game against Sweden in St. Petersburg (6:00 p.m., live on ORF1).
The Spanish fans had expected coach Luis Enrique’s team to play a final in the run-up to the finals. Nobody had thought of the former world champion that this would take place in the last group game at home and not on July 11 in London. After two draws against Sweden and Poland, the Spaniards only have two points to book.
High tension in group E
While there is already clarity in the Austria Group, there is a lot of tension in Group E. Three teams can still advance on their own. Only Sweden has already qualified for the round of 16 with four points from the first two games.
In any case, the Spanish media were more confident that the exercise against the Slovaks would succeed, given the previous ideas. “A gloomy atmosphere prevails over the EM tour of the ‘Seleccion'”, said “El Pais”. Because so far there has been little or nothing furious about the “Furia Roja”. Both in the zero number against Sweden and in the 1-1 draw against Poland, the Spaniards acted with a lot of possession, but without ideas when creating opportunities.
Heat battle threatens
There was also no sign of the home advantage in Seville, the spontaneous CoV-related replacement location for Bilbao. So far, the Spaniards have not been able to capitalize on the supposed advantage of the high temperatures in Andalusia. In addition to lack of ideas, there was also bad luck and inability, like a missed penalty against Poland. “We would have deserved more,” said Marcos Llorente from Spanish champions Atletico Madrid about the yield. Perhaps the weather will play into the cards for the Spaniards this time, because the game starts at 6 p.m., three hours earlier than the two previous games. This threatens a heat battle, because the forecast is well over 30 degrees and sunshine.
In any case, the Slovaks do not allow themselves to be disturbed by the supposedly unfamiliar hot climate. With one point, Austria’s neighbor would also be in the knockout round. Captain Marek Hamsik demanded full concentration from his team in advance, especially in the early stages. “They will attack us violently,” said the 33-year-old. Defender Ondrej Duda sees his team well prepared. “I think we have two good games behind us – and we want to continue,” said Duda: “We want to make it as difficult as possible for them.”
Poland draws hope again
A difficult task is also waiting for Poland, who absolutely need their first victory in the tournament against the Swedes in St. Petersburg in the last impression in order to make it into the top three of the group. In Poland, there was great skepticism in the media and the public before the European Championship. After the 1: 2 against Slovakia at the beginning, it turned into a doom and gloom. A goal by Robert Lewandowski and the draw against Spain have now turned the mood. The sports newspaper “Przeglad Sportowy” wrote: “This is not just Poland, this is Poland with Lewandowski. The Swedes are already starting to be a little scared. “
Team boss Paulo Sousa also saw the performance as a wake-up call. “If we always play like this, we can take on anyone. We can win or lose. But we would be a lot closer to victory, ”said the Portuguese. “I hope the tournament starts really well for us now,” said defender Kamil Glik after the game against Spain. “We are now looking forward to a real final against Sweden.” Statistically, the starting position is not the best: Sweden is unbeaten against Poland in seven games, the Scandinavians won six of them. The last time the Poles won was on August 21, 1991, on Lewandowski’s third birthday.
The Bayern goalscorer should now end the Swedish gate ban at the EM. His opponents didn’t just want to talk about their opponent’s top star. “Of course he’s their best and most important player, but we have to defend against him and the rest of the Poles,” said defender Marcus Danielson. The Swedes themselves oppose Alexander Isak. The 21-year-old from Real Sociedad drew attention to himself at the EM. “When he picks up speed, it is almost impossible to stop him,” said team-mate Mikael Lustig.
European Football Championship, Group E, third matchday
Start 6 p.m .:
Sweden – Poland
St. Petersburg, SR Oliver (ENG)
Live on ORF1 and in the livestream
Possible setups:
Sweden: Olsen – Lustig, Lindelöf, Danielson, Augustinsson – S. Larsson, Claesson, Olsson, Forsberg – Isak, Berg
Poland: Szczesny – Bereszynski, Glik, Dawidowicz – Jozwiak, Krychowiak, Klich, Puchacz – Swiderski, Lewandowski, Zielinski
Spain – Slovakia
Sevilla, SR Kuipers (NED)
Possible setups:
Spain: Simon – Azpilicueta, Pau Torres, Laporte, Jordi Alba – Marcos Llorente, Busquets, Thiago – Oyarzabal, Gerard Moreno, Morata
Slovakia: Dubravka – Pekarik, Satka, Skriniar, Hubocan – Kucka, Hrosovsky – Haraslin, Hamsik, Mak – Duda
