Sweden and Belgium begin their qualifying campaign for UEFA Euro 2024 by playing each other at Stockholm.
SWE vs BEL Match Details
Date: Friday, 24 March 2023 / Saturday, 25 March 2023
Time: 20:45 (CET) / 01:15 (IST)
Venue: Friends Arena, Stockholm
SWE vs BEL Match Preview
Sweden
Sweden did not cherish the World Cup stage in Qatar as they were knocked out by Poland in the playoffs but they went to the round of 16 of Euro 2020 played in 2021. They defeated the Pols in that competition in the last group stage game to progress to the next round where they were eliminated by Ukraine. This has been a competition the Blue and Yellows have been regular in and only missed once since their first qualification in 1992. Sweden reached the semi-finals of that edition, their best finish in Euro history and are hoping to do the same or better in Germany should they qualify. Janne Andersson's side are drawn into quite a group with Belgium and Austria as the big boys alongside Azerbaijan and Estonia. They are full of confidence after four successive wins leading up to the opening clash in the Euro 2024 qualifying against the Red Devils. Sweden will be the favourites to grab the top two spots in the group but they cannot lose sight of their destiny as done in the World Cup qualification with a late collapse allowing Spain to overtake them for the automatic spot. It is a challenging task to open their qualifying campaign against Belgium whom they lost in the last two meetings without scoring a goal but their recent form should allow them to ask questions of the opposition on Friday.
Belgium
Belgium’s collapse was inevitable at the 2022 World Cup but few could have predicted a group stage exit that too suffering a shock loss to Morocco and spurning numerous chances to score in the do-or-die against Croatia to play out a goalless draw. With an aging backline and discontentment sparking in the dressing room of players blaming each other combined in manager Roberto Martinez stepping down from his role. The golden generation of Belgium football seemingly lost the chance of winning a trophy under the Spaniard and searching for a new face to rebuild everything took them to Domenico Tedesco. Martinez’s successor recently had a spell with RB Leipzig but his tenure was cut short before finishing a year due to poor results at the beginning of this season. Tedesco hopes his failures at the club do not show their head in the national team setup. It was also a gamble taken by the Belgian FA to appoint him with the hope now of moving on the right path this time out. The manager will have a talented squad and seasoned veterans with whom he wishes to create magic. A commendable result against Sweden to begin the Euro 2024 qualifying will be ideal for a great beginning to the new era. The Red Devils will only play one qualifier during this international break before taking on tournament hosts Germany in a friendly before the next set of competitive games in June.
Recent Form
SWE: WWWWD
BEL: DLWLL
SWE vs BEL Team News
Sweden called Zlatan Ibrahimovic back to the squad, now aged 41, one year after his last appearance for the nation. The AC Milan forward also had a long spell battling with his knee injuries but is now fit to impact games at least from the bench, not being an automatic starter anymore. Rotherham United's Viktor Johansson is the only uncapped player in the squad
Belgium have kept the core of the group intact despite the change in the managerial role with only Toby Alderweirld and Eden Hazard announcing their retirements after the tournament in Qatar. However, the Red Devils will miss Thomas Kaminski and Jeremy Doku through injuries. Southampton’s Romeo Lavia is set to earn his first cap for his nation.
SWE vs BEL Predicted Lineups
SWE: Robin Olsen; Emil Holm, Isak Hien, Victor Lindelof, Ludwig Augustinsson; Viktor Claesson, Kristoffer Olsson, Jesper Karlstrom, Emil Forsberg; Alexander Isak, Dejan Kulusevski
BEL: Thibaut Courtois; Thomas Meunier, Jan Vertonghen, Wout Faes, Timothy Castagne; Amadou Onana, De Bruyne, Romeo Lavia; Leonardo Trossard, Romelu Lukaku, Yannick Carrasco
SWE vs BEL Head to head
SWE won - 4
Draw - 2
BEL won - 9
SWE vs BEL Dream11 Team Prediction
GK: Courtois (7.5)
DEF: Meunier (8), Lindelof (8.5), Vertonghen (8)
MID: Kulusevski (9), De Bruyne (9), Forsberg (9), Trossard (8.5), Carrasco (8.5)
FW: Lukaku (9), Isak (8.5)
Vice-captain: Emil Forsberg
Captain: De Bruyne
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