Spain 0-0 Sweden result, goals, summary: Euro 2021

Hello! Well, it’s awfully nice to focus on the football after a build-up to Euro 2020 which, for both tonight’s sides in Seville, has been dominated by the coronavirus.

Spain are without captain Sergio Busquets (for now at least) after he contracted covid-19 just over a week ago, while defender Diego Llorente has rejoined the camp after first testing positive, then negative. Having placed the rest of the squad in isolation, Spain weren’t even able to play their final Euro 2020 warm-up against Lithuania last week. Their under-21s deputised, and did a spanking good job of it, too, winning 4-0.

Meanwhile, Sweden have also been hit by covid-19. Mattias Svanberg and Dejan Kulusevksi both returned positive tests last week, and though they have now returned to Janne Andersson’s squad after testing negative, neither will be involved tonight.

Sweden come into the tournament in very decent form indeed, having won each of their last five games and kept four clean sheets in the process. However, they face a Spanish side that got the better of them in qualifying for Euro 2020, easing to a 3-0 win in Madrid before earning a draw in Stockholm.

The Swedes will also be up against a 16,000-strong crowd mostly pulling for the home team at the Estadio de la Cartuja - a ground where Spain have enjoyed positive fortunes. Before a 3-1 win over Kosovo at the stadium this March, they memorably thumped Germany 6-0 there in November.