Portugal vs. Sweden: Team News, Preview, Live Stream, TV Info for Euro U21 Final
The European Under-21 Championship has reached the final stage, where Portugal and Sweden, two Group B qualifiers earlier in the month, go head-to-head for the prize.
They met earlier in the competition in the final group game and drew 1-1, with Simon Tibbling's 89th-minute equaliser cancelling out Goncalo Paciencia's late strike.
Who will lift the trophy, following in the footsteps of Petr Cech, Andrea Pirlo, Thiago Alcantara and more?
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The Details
Stage: Final
Venue: Eden Stadium, Prague
Date: Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Time: 7:45 p.m. BST
TV and live stream: BT Sport 1 & HD (UK) / UEFA.tv live stream
Portugal Preview
Rui Jorge has only one concern ahead of this game: Will Tiago Ilori be fit to play? Tobias Figueiredo stepped in for the 5-0 mauling of Germany in the semi-final and looked brilliant, so perhaps it's not even that much of an issue.
The midfield four of William Carvalho, Joao Mario, Sergio Oliveira and Bernardo Silva have steamrolled everything they've come into contact with so far this tournament, and more of the same will be expected. Jorge had the luxury of taking Bernardo off after just 50 minutes against die Deutsche—job done at 4-0—so he'll be fresh as a fiddle for this one.
One area of possible improvement? The left-back play from Raphael Guerreiro. The Lorient man has struggled in most aspects so far, though the overall strength of the team has hidden much of this.
Sweden Preview
Sweden's approach to football is no closely guarded secret; where some managers tweak and freshen to keep others guessing, Hakan Ericson simply asks 100 percent effort, energy and tactical devotion to the same system every game. Thus far, it's proved a wise stroke.
With just one loss to their name from four games (against England, of all teams), the Swedes are entrenched in a 4-4-2 system that closes space between the lines and defends like 11 lives depend on it.
Joseph Baffo could come into the XI if his shoulder injury recovers, joining Alexander Milosevic at the expense of the distinctly less impressive Filip Helander. Tibbling should keep his spot on the right, while the rest of the team is all set.
The John Guidetti-Isaac Kiese Thelin forward combination has been quietly excellent, while the Oscars in midfield are underrated performers.
Where the Game Will Be Won
Much of the game and impending result will hinge upon the midfield battle, with Portugal's four men set to try to pull Sweden's two out of position. Bernardo will try to slip between the defence and the midfield, and William will try to find him with direct passes, but Lewicki and Hiljemark don't leave much room to play with.
In the semi-final, Sweden brought out a new trick we'd not seen much of in this tournament: the attacking dynamic of the full-backs. Victor Lindelof—of Benfica, coincidentally—ruled the right side and overran Jonas Knudsen of Denmark on occasion. It allows Sweden to hit the byline and get both Guidetti and Thelin into the box to feed off the service.
Forecasting how a Sweden goal could go in is easy due to their traditional play, but forecasting how a Portugal strike lands in the net is nearly impossible. They've scored all sorts from all angles so far, and the makeup of their forward line (neither player is a true striker) makes their movements difficult to anticipate and even more difficult to stop.
Prediction
It's starting to feel silly predicting Sweden to lose; they simply never roll over, always willing to take one last shot in defiance of the expected result. That said, Portugal have, in simple terms, looked by far the best team in this competition over the course of four games, and we expect them to finish the job here.
Portugal 2-1 Sweden
