Euro 2020: Group E guide

Group E fixtures, UK kick-off times and TV coverage

June 14 - Poland 1-2 Slovakia. Read the match report here. Spain 0-0 Sweden. Read the match report here.

June 18 - Sweden 1-0 Slovakia. Read the match report here.

June 19 - Spain 1-1 Poland. Read the match report here.

June 23 - Slovakia 0-5 Spain. Read the match report here. Sweden 3-2 Poland. Read the match report here.

Teams

Spain: Spain are chasing a third European Championship triumph in four tournaments – a remarkable feat should they achieve it.

But after failing to progress beyond the last 16 in each of their last three major tournaments, it would be surprising if a repeat of those glorious victories is on the cards at Euro 2020.

Never rule out La Roja though. Luis Enrique has done an impressive job of bedding in some fresh blood in recent years and his side went undefeated in qualifying, winning eight of their 10 matches.

Sweden: Runners-up behind Spain in qualifying Group F, Sweden will be hoping they can repeat their heroics from the 2018 World Cup by reaching the quarter-finals.

That might be tricky – the Blagult are coming into this tournament with one of the older squads in the competition and without national icon Zlatan Ibrahimovic, after his remarkable return to international football at the age of 39 was dashed by injury.

Poland: Up until 2008, Poland had never qualified for a European Championship – now they’ve reached four in a row, including co-hosting the 2012 edition.

Reaching this summer's showpiece was relatively straightforward, as they topped qualifying Group G with eight wins from 10 matches.

Despite this, they’re somewhat of an unknown quantity coming into the tournament, given new manager Paulo Sousa has overseen just four matches since taking charge in January.

Slovakia: Slovakia qualified for their first ever finals in 2016 and have repeated the feat this time around.

The Falcons did it the hard way – requiring the play-offs after finishing third in qualifying behind Croatia and Wales in Group E.

They controversially hired new manager Stefan Tarkovic just before their play-off final against Northern Ireland but still managed to come out on top after securing a dramatic 2-1 victory in extra-time.

Venues

Spain will benefit from a crucial home advantage, with all three of their group stage fixtures being played at Estadio La Cartuja in Seville. The Krestovsky Stadium, over 4,120km away in St Petersburg, Russia, will play host to the other three Group E matches.

Pre-tournament form guide

Since the start of 2019, only Ukraine have managed to defeat Spain (W14, D8, L1), highlighting how tough Luis Enrique’s side have been to overcome over the past two years.

A 6-0 hammering of Germany stands out as the highlight of his reign to date, while they drew 0-0 with reigning European champions Portugal in La Roja’s penultimate warm-up match ahead of Euro 2020.

Winning each of their previous five international matches has handed Sweden a timely confidence boost prior to the start of the tournament. Yet it’s worth noting that none of their opponents in that sequence had a place inside FIFA’s top 50 ranked nations.

They faced much sterner opposition last year in the form of France, Portugal, and Denmark, and lost to every one of those sides.

Sousa’s reign with Poland hasn’t exactly started with a bang after just one win from his opening five matches in charge (W1, D3, L1), and that came against minnows Andorra.

While their form isn’t sensational, they do still have the prolific Robert Lewandowksi leading the line. He scored 41 league goals in only 29 appearances for Bayern Munich in 2020-21 and will undoubtedly be shouldering most of his nation's hopes.

Group underdogs Slovakia have only won one of their previous five matches, but two draws either side of that victory do highlight that Tarkovic’s men have at least been tough to beat.

Key game

With Spain expected to top the group, the other three teams will likely be left vying for the runners-up spot.

Sweden and Poland will probably have too much for Slovakia, but not enough to stop Spain, making their meeting on the final matchday potentially decisive.

LiveScore verdict

After a turbulent recent history at major tournaments, Spain could well get back on track in this summer’s Euros. Their squad looks strong and well balanced, their form heading into the tournament is good and they’ll benefit from playing all three group matches on home soil.

They are rightfully heavy favourites to top the group, but on paper there’s little to choose from between Sweden and Poland.

Although the Eagles are yet to find their stride under their new manager, we think Poland just hold the advantage thanks to Lewandowski.

He could be the difference between the sides and can provide the goals to fire his team into the knockout stages.