Euro 2016 Group E Preview and Predictions for Sweden

Since the final culmination of the 2015/16 domestic campaign in which Leicester City famously landed the Premier League title in sincerely unpredictable circumstances, talk of Euro 2016 has quite understandably reached fever pitch within the wider footballing community in general. In light of such a notion, we’ve decided to continue our closer look at everything Group E will seemingly have to offer at this summer’s competition, with Erik Hamren’s Sweden stepping up to the spotlight for now…  

 

Chances of success:

With both Belgium and Italy looking to claim that all important top-spot among Group E this summer, Sweden will simply have it all to do if they really want to achieve something special at Euro 2016.

They certainly have enough quality within their ranks to successfully see off the Republic of Ireland when all is said and done, but as Scandinavian football hasn’t exactly served to set the wider European game alight in recent years, it remains somewhat difficult to imagine Sweden really taking Euro 2016 by storm whilst claiming a few illustrious scalps along the way.

 

Ones to watch:

Whilst the likes of Jonas and Martin Olsson of West Brom and Norwich City respectively, both Ola Toivonen and Sebastian Larsson of Sunderland, as well as former Manchester City youngster John Guidetti – all seemingly represent relatively well known faces among the English game – there is obviously one standout Swedish international that will likely steal all the headlines for Erik Hamren’s side if we’re all being honest…

Relevant betting tips could easily place Zlatan Ibrahimovic as a good shout to walk away with the golden boot at Euro 2016 with all things fairly considered this summer, which could potentially push Sweden much further in the competition than initial expectations may admittedly paint out right in the here and now.  

 

From the dug-out:

Sweden certainly remain in capable hands with Erik Hamren calling all the shots this summer. Although his nation haven’t quite hit the lofty heights some of their domestic fans have nonetheless been expecting upon the international scene of late, the man himself has been stationed within the Swedish dug-out since 2009 – and could possibly highlight Euro 2016 as his final swansong at the top within the grand scheme of things.

 

Sweden’s Euro 2016 predictions:

Let’s face it, although Sweden do in-fact have subtle reason for confidence with both Zlatan Ibrahimovic and John Guidetti solidly involved among the action at the approaching international tournament, Hamren’s defensive backline arguably remains a little too frail to really do the business at Euro 2016.

Sweden could possibly make it out of Group E at the expense of either Italy or Belgium however, but even if such an outcome does admittedly take place for Zlatan and co. this summer, achieving further success within those ever competitive knock-out stages may indeed prove far easier said than done.