“I don’t think they will throw caution to the wind despite being under more pressure than us (after their opening 1-0 defeat by holders Spain)”.
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Spain dominated from the start against the Czech Republic but was inefficient on the attack against a team that played almost every man on defense for much of the game.
“The way some people react after losing only one game creates a negative impact on our team and that creates a problem for us”.
“We’re all disappointed we lost to Spain, but the tournament isn’t over for us”. After the first game, he got a lot of criticism and that’s hard for a footballer.
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. Sweden’s hopes will as always rest on Ibrahimovic who will be looking to seal his place in Swedish folklore by somehow getting his team over the finish line and through to the next round despite the odds being stacked against them.
“We have to prepare ourselves for a fast-paced game and it wouldn’t be a drawback if we made some changes to the starting 11”, he said.
Vicente Del Bosque’s side managed to pick up 3 points in that meeting only thanks to the Pique’s late goal when he rose at the back post to head in Andres Iniesta’s cross after 87 minutes.
“I like each of them, but this is an worldwide match”. The going will get tougher for Sweden unless they improve on their opening performance as Ibrahimovic will find himself up against possibly the best defence in Europe and possibly the world at the moment.
“They are one of the best teams in the world, but the game is played on the pitch, we will do our best”, said Terim.
“If I get the task of playing against Modric then I will do that”. You can not just go and play Spain without actually trying to play. “If you just try to defend and try to close the goal, they will eventually open it up”, added Terim. “That’s what I will tell to my players”.
Czech Republic meanwhile, were three minutes away from a memorable draw against Spain in their opening game, although despite defending admirably for nearly the entire game, Pavel Vrba’s side were comfortbaly second best against the defending champions.
Babacan, Gönül, Topal, Balta, Erkin, İnan, Şen, Çalhanoğlu, Özyakup, Turan, Yılmaz.
Bearing those injury concerns in mind, here are Vavel’s predicted line-ups for the game in Nice.
The Czech Republic have never failed to score in two consecutive games at the European Championships. The Spanish play tiki-taka football, whereas Croatia are more straightforward. They have the technical ability – and firepower – to trouble any side in France this summer.
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Meanwhile, Spain midfielder Sergio Busquets has pinpointed Barcelona team-mate Arda Turan as the man to watch when the European champions take on Turkey.
