Group E: Italy v Sweden, Friday, beIN Sports Max 1-4, 5pm
He terrorised opposition defences in Serie A for seven seasons but Zlatan Ibrahimovic will face stiff resistance to his efforts to rescue Sweden's Euro 2016 campaign against Italy on Friday.
“Zlatan can put a whole team under pressure just by himself, but we have to concentrate on our own game ... and try to limit their strengths,” Lazio winger Antonio Candreva said.
After a frustrating 1-1 draw with Republic of Ireland in which Ibrahimovic failed to sparkle despite playing a decisive role in Ciaran Clark’s late own goal, the Swedes are under pressure ahead of Friday’s Group E clash in Toulouse.
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A defeat would leave the Scandinavians needing to beat Belgium, ranked No 2 in the world, in their last group game and hope they get among the four best third-placed group finishers to sneak into the last 16.
Sweden coach Erik Hamren is already dubious.
“Even though we managed to come back and equalise, I am disappointed. We will need to play at 300 percent to get through,” he said after their opening draw.
Sweden will really need the talents of Ibrahimovic, their talisman for many seasons..
One of the most feared strikers in the world, Ibrahimovic’s ability to produce moments of goalscoring magic have delighted fans for the past decade.
He hit 11 goals for Sweden in their qualifying campaign, only two shy of German Robert Lewandowski, and with the pressure now on the towering striker Italy coach Antonio Conte has sounded a warning.
“I like Ibra a lot, above all when he plays for the national team. He’s got plenty of character, and he leads by example,” said the Italy handler.
“He’s become even stronger over the past few years, and he’s still progressing. He’s a very strong player who can destabilise a whole team.”
Group D: Czech Republic v Croatia, Friday, beIN Sports Max 1-4, 8pm
Rocked by a second family bereavement in three days, Croatia will be determined to seal a last-16 berth when they meet the Czech Republic in their Euro 2016 Group D clash on Friday, defender Domagoj Vida said.
Following the death of captain Darijo Srna’s father on Sunday during Croatia’s 1-0 win over Turkey, the team’s media officer Tomislav Pacak said goalkeeping coach Marijan Mrmic’s father had also died on Tuesday night.
Srna, accompanied by manager Ante Cacic, went to his father’s funeral on Monday and returned to the team’s Deauville base camp in northern France ready to face the Czechs.
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Vida, a tough-tackling centre back personifying Croatia’s willpower in the face of adversity, said the team would go the extra mile for their captain and Mrmic, who travelled home early on Wednesday.
“We all mourn when someone here suffers a loss because we are one big family,” Vida said. “We will be galvanised to play for our captain and put him straight back on the rails. He is a great character and I am totally convinced he will be at his best on Friday.”
“If we perform like we did against Turkey and show the same fighting spirit we should come out on top, although the Czechs are tougher opposition.
The Czechs must come up with a bolder approach, having conceded a late goal against the Spaniards after working hard to contain the champions.
Group D: Spain v Turkey, Friday, beIN Sports Max 1-4, 11pm
European champions Spain are often slow starters at major tournaments, but after Gerard Pique’s late winner in their Euro 2016 opener, Vicente del Bosque’s men already have the last 16 in sight when they take on Turkey on Friday.
An opening defeat at the 2010 World Cup, and draw at the 2012 European Championship ultimately counted for little as Spain won both tournaments.
But after a disastrous 5-1 thrashing at the hands of the Netherlands provoked a first-round exit from the 2014 World Cup, Spain breathed a sigh of relief with the 1-0 win against the Czech Republic in Toulouse on Monday.
Spain are now unbeaten in 13 European Championship games, but question marks remain over the potency of their attack to give veteran coach Del Bosque plenty of selection headaches for their second Group D tie.
The two-time defending champions dominated possession and managed 17 shots on goal, but had to wait until the 87th minute for centre-back Pique to head home at the back post.
One of several new Spain faces making their major finals debut, Athletic Bilbao striker Aritz Aduriz sat on the bench as Juventus marksman Alvaro Morata spurned a hatful of chances in front of Petr Cech’s goal.
Aduriz replaced Morata for the last 20 minutes, but failed to make a big impact as he sent a speculative overhead kick wide of the target with his best effort.
“The important thing is we won and took the points. That’s crucial for any first game,” Aduriz said.
Del Bosque also handed European Championship debuts to Celta Vigo winger Nolito and Bayern Munich midfielder Thiago Alcantara, although neither are guaranteed to start against Turkey.
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