Game one of Group E sees the Republic of Ireland and Sweden sides facing off in Saint-Denis.
Last time out it was the the Irish fans who stole the show, so they will have a fairly high bar to clear this time around. The Boys in Green have the oldest squad in the competition, so they would like to send some of their veterans off on a positive note.
Sweden, meanwhile, would like to get their tournament off to a good start as they would be fancying their chances of progression.
Player to Watch – Seamus Coleman
The Everton fullback wants to end his 2015-2016 season on a high after a frustrating club campaign and he has been receiving plenty of praise from assistant coach Roy Keane during training sessions into the lead up to the tournament. Most of Ireland’s chances will come on the counter-attack, so a player like Seamus Coleman will be important as he can get the ball and power up the field. However, if he gets caught too far up the pitch it will also be an area that can be exploited.
The walking wounded
The Irish are going into this game with a few players under injury clouds. Forward John Walters is coming off knee surgery and is having problems with his Achilles’ tendons and fellow hitman Robbie Keane is making a return to training, but is likely to feature off he bench if needed as he tries to recover from a calf injury. In the defence, Robbie Brady astonishingly managed to throw out his back picking up his daughter from the bath. Those concerns will not help turn around their poor run of form at Euro finals, having lost their last four games. The team that takes the field will be under the pump for long portions of the game and they will need to be on point mentally to pick their moments to attack.
Starting on the right-foot
Ever the showman, most of the headlines surrounding the Swedes have been about Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s potential move to Manchester United and when he will announce it (or if he will move at all). It takes the focus off the fact that Sweden almost have no choice but to win this game if they want to progress out of the group. With Italy and Belgium facing off in the other game, a win for the Blågult could see them in a great position to qualify with two games to go.
Predicted Lineups
Head-to-head
Sweden will be the more confident of the two as they have never lost to Ireland in a competitive fixture. Their most recent meetings came in the 2014 World Cup Qualifiers where the sides drew 0-0 in Solna, before the visiting Swedes won 2-1 in Dublin. Overall they have won four and drawn twice in the two side’s history.
Prediction
Sweden will outclass a gallant Irish side whose injury concerns will keep them just too far behind.
Sweden 2 Ireland 0
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