After a tough loss to Italy, Belgium looked more like the title contender many were expecting entering Euro 2016 with a resounding win over the Republic of Ireland. The Red Devils will now look to secure qualification to the next round by avoiding defeat against a Sweden team which has struggled mightily on offense in this tournament despite the presence of superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Read on below for our complete preview of this Group E matchup. Meanwhile, don’t forget to read our preview of Wednesday’s other Group E game, Italy vs. Ireland.
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Belgium had the perfect response to its opening game loss to Italy by pounding Ireland 3-0. Manager Marc Wilmots made a couple of changes to his starting lineup by bringing in midfielders Mousa Dembele and Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco, and they worked. The two gave the team much more directness on offense right from kick-off.
It bodes well for Belgium that Wilmots has found a much better balance to his lineup. Sweden will be a tough nut to crack, but the Belgians have the weapons to simply wear them down like they did to the Irish.
Carrasco has the outstanding pace from the wing; Kevin De Bruyne offers tremendous creativity down the middle; and Romelu Lukaku, high on confidence after two goals against Ireland, will be a handful physically for Sweden’s defenders. They also have all those weapons capable of making an immediate impact off the bench.
Right-back remains a question mark for Belgium, with Thomas Meunier the obvious weak link on the team. However, the rest of their defense is very solid, and the central defensive partnership of Toby Alderweireld and Thomas Vermaelen has both the talent and the experience to contain the threat of Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
The equation is simple for Sweden: a win against Belgium will keep them in the running for a spot in the round of 16. Getting that win won’t be quite as simple, though.
The Swedish attack has incredibly anemic in this tournament, so much so that they haven’t even registered a single shot on target through their first 180-plus minutes of action. (They did score, but it was on an Ireland own goal.)
Star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been very disappointing thus far. He scored 13 goals to lead Sweden in qualifying, but his opponents have keyed in on him due to Sweden’s lack of quality elsewhere in attack. Sweden will need its star to finally come through to stand any chance of winning.
On the bright side, the Swedes did have the upper hand over Italy for majority of their contest. Their defense played reasonably well, and kept the Italians silent for most of the game before finally succumbing very late in the game.
The Swedes have the defensive organization to make things tough for a more talented Belgium team. But unless Zlatan can produce a moment of magic, which he has been unable to do in this tournament, it’s tough to see anyone else scoring any goals for this team.
Writer’s Prediction
Belgium (-140) stamps its class all over Sweden with a 2-0 win.
