Sweden vs Ukraine: Swedes target Euro 2012 revenge
- Seb Sternik
- 28 June 2021
A place in the Euro 2020 quarter-finals will be up for grabs when Sweden and Ukraine clash in Glasgow.
When: Tuesday, June 29, 20:00 BST
How to watch: BBC One
Best bets
In order to find the last head-to-head encounter between Sweden and Ukraine, you'd have to go all the way back to Euro 2012.
On that day, the narrative before kick-off was set on the battle of the forwards. Specifically speaking, the heavyweight battle between Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Andriy Shevchenko.
The two behemoths certainly delivered, scoring three of the game's goals.
Thankfully for Ukraine, it was Shevchenko who outscored his Swedish counterpart to seal a famous victory in Kyiv.
Ukraine legend and head coach, Andriy Shevchenko
Question is, which one of them is willing to go that extra mile and book their spot in the Euro 2020 quarter-finals?
Last three matches
As co-hosts of Euro 2012, Ukraine were desperate to get off to the best of starts when they hosted Sweden in Kyiv.
However, Shevchenko wasn't about to let a major occasion for his country go up in smoke. Instead, the former Champions League winner took the game by the scruff of the neck and scored a seven-minute brace to seal a memorable victory.
Johan Elmander scored the first goal of the game as Sweden took the lead in the seventh minute.
However, their advantage didn't last long as Marko Devic converted a 20th-minute penalty to level the score.
The two teams couldn't be separated and the final was determined via a penalty shootout, which was ultimately won by the Ukrainians.
Last five head-to-heads
Sweden wins: 1
Draws: 0
Ukraine: 4
Sweden goals: 4
Ukraine goals: 5
Tough to beat
Even though Janne Andersson's men picked up seven points from their three group games, few regard the Swedes as actual contenders in this tournament.
Spain threw everything they had at Sweden in Group E's opener yet they failed to put the ball in the back of the net.
Sweden's Emil Forsberg, Dejan Kulusevski and Kristoffer Olsson
Slovakia dominated possession against the Swedes but they failed to land a single shot on target.
And in spite of Robert Lewandowski's brace, Poland also failed to beat the Scandinavian side, who ran out 3-2 winners in Saint Petersburg.
Sweden's Euro 2020 results...
Are Ukraine just making up the numbers?
Ukraine celebrate their second goal against North Macedonia
Shevchenko's men were 2-0 down against the Netherlands in their tournament opener yet they showed great character to make it 2-2 in the latter stages. An 85th minute Denzel Dumfries winner denied Ukraine a memorable draw but a statement of intent was certainly sent.
A 2-1 win over North Macedonia put the Eastern European side back on track, but a 1-0 loss to Austria in their final group game was rather disappointing.
Nevertheless, the one thing we have learned so far is that anything goes in knockout soccer. Ukraine will certainly want to follow in the footsteps of Czech Republic and Switzerland who have already shocked the doubters in the last 16.
Ukraine's Euro 2020 results...
Goalscorer bets
Emil Forsberg is one of the tournament's top scorers, having bagged three goals so far at Euro 2020.
The Swede is in-form and at 11/4 he's well priced to score anytime.
Andriy Yarmolenko celebrates his goal against North Macedonia
