Our prediction for this Nations League match:
Slovakia and Sweden square off against each other at Tehelne pole in what is expected to be a close Nations League encounter. The Slovaks aim to keep their 100% record intact, but they will have a big fish to fry against Sweden. A man to keep an eye on in the home team will be Stanislav Lobotka, who produced a fine display for Napoli in a 3-1 win over Como at the weekend.
The Swedes, on the other hand, aim to build on back-to-back wins over Azerbaijan and Estonia. However, we are not tempted to put our money on the away team this time out as Newcastle United ace Alexander Isak misses out with injury. In his absence, a man to watch in the away team will be Sporting CP ace Viktor Gyokeres, who scored a brace in the 3-0 win over Estonia in September. Tottenham forward Dejan Kulusevski should start as well.
Highlighted Team (Sweden):
Sweden are the most successful Nordic side on international stage having been present at major competitions since 1934. Blagult missed out on the 1952 World Cup trophy on home soil as they were beaten by star-studded Brazil side, while they finished in third place at the 1950 and 1994 tournaments, and finishing fourth on their second appearance in 1938.
As far as their European Championship record is concerned, Sweden also achieved their best result in front of home fans, reaching the last four in 1992, and they have since reached the quarter-finals at Euro 1994 in Portugal.
Anders Svensson and Thomas Ravelli are team’s most capped players with over 140 appearances each, but it is strikers Henrik Larsson and Zlatan Ibrahimovic that will go down as the most famous Swedish footballers in history. The later also leads the goalscoring charts with over 60 strikes for the national team and he is widely regarded as one of the most colourful characters, not only in Scandinavia, but in world football.