Euro 2020: Spain stifled as Swedes hold former champs to 0-0 draw

This was a deeply frustrating start to the tournament for three-time European champions Spain, who broke a competition record with 917 passes while keeping 85% possession but failed to win their first game for the fifth time in their last six major tournament appearances.

Spain tried to pass Sweden into oblivion in their Euro 2020 opener on Monday (June 14) but had to settle for a 0-0 draw as they were let down by poor finishing and might have even lost had it not been for a glaring miss by opposing striker Marcus Berg. Alvaro Morata spurned Spain’s best opening in a dominant first half display from Luis Enrique’s side on a scorching evening at Seville’s La Cartuja stadium in Group E when he missed the target from inside the area after a defensive slip. But Sweden’s Berg was equally wasteful when he somehow missed the target after a sensational piece of skill and cross from fellow forward Alexander Isak, who had manoeuvred his way past four Spain defenders to put the chance on a plate. Spain ran out of steam in the second half before rallying again late on but still failed to beat Sweden keeper Robin Olsen, who thwarted substitute Gerard Moreno in stoppage time. “The team leave feeling bad after all the effort we made and the chances we created but we have two games left and we’ll try to do better. If we played like that in 10 games we`d have won nine of them,” said Spain’s Aymeric Laporte.