After virus scare, Spain ready to face Sweden

• Lewandowski out to improve tournament record • Scotland back at last, takes on Czech Republic

It was only a week ago that Spain received some bad news that could have jeopardized its participation in the European Championship. Captain Sergio Busquets tested positive for the coronavirus and the national team suddenly faced the possibility of a COVID19 outbreak.

Busquets left the team's training camp and the rest of the squad had to go into isolation. Everyone had to be tested and retested. Spain coach Luis Enrique had to hastily put together a parallel squad in case more players were infected. Personalized training routines were put into place. The team's final warm-up match had to be played with an under-21 squad.

Fears increased when a second player, defender Diego Llorente, tested positive a few days later, and Spanish soccer federation president Luis Rubiales said more positive results were likely. More players were pulled away from their vacations to join the parallel training bubble.

It was a grim outlook for "La Roja" on the eve of the tournament that was delayed for a year because of the pandemic.

But normalcy was somehow restored for Spain ahead of its Group E opener against Sweden on Monday in Seville.

Little by little, the good news started trickling in. Llorente's test result turned out to be a false-positive. The government rushed in to vaccinate the entire squad. Players were allowed to practice together again after tests kept coming back negative.

Spain will be much closer to full strength when it takes on the Swedes at La Cartuja Stadium.

Sweden also had to deal with setbacks because of the coronavirus. Dejan Kulusevski and Mattias Svanberg tested positive last week and had to go into isolation.

They won't be available to play on Monday, and neither will Busquets. The Barcelona player had taken over as captain of the national team after Luis Enrique decided not to call up veteran Sergio

Ramos because he was plagued by injuries this season.

Sweden will be without its own veteran star, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who ended his five-year international retirement in March but had to rule himself out of Euro 2020 because of a knee injury.

The Swedish attack will likely be led by 21-year-old Alexander Isak, who plays for Real Sociedad in the Spanish league.

Spain's squad had its first full practice only on Saturday, when Luis Enrique began deciding who will replace Busquets, the only player remaining in the squad that was in Spain's World Cup-winning team in 2010. Manchester City player Rodri Hernández will be the likely substitute for Busquets in the midfield on Monday.

This is the third time in a row that Spain faced problems ahead of a major tournament. Days before the 2018 World Cup, Spain coach Julen Lopetegui was fired after taking a job with Real Madrid, and starting goalkeeper David de Gea had his name involved in an investigation into a Spanish pornography filmmaker before Euro 2016. He eventually was fully cleared of any wrongdoing. Luis Enrique hopes the challenges posed by the coronavirus are in the past.

Lewandowski out to improve tournament record

Robert Lewandowski's standing as one of the greatest ever strikers at club level is surely undisputed after a record-breaking season with Bayern Munich.

With 66 goals in 119 games for Poland, his status in the international game is well-established, too. Except, maybe, in one respect.

Lewandowski has yet to turn it on at a major tournament. In fact, with only two goals in 11 matches at either a World Cup or a European Championship, there's an argument he has underperformed on the biggest stage for Poland.

Maybe that will all change at Euro 2020 — and he could hardly have picked a kinder opponent to start against.

Poland's opening Group E game at the continent-wide tournament is on Monday against Slovakia, a nation seemingly on the slide after making its debut appearance at both a World Cup and the European Championship since 2010.

It's exactly the type of team Lewandowski should be targeting to improve his underwhelming scoring numbers at major tournaments — at 32, he might only have one more in him — and he couldn't be in better shape to do so if his form for Bayern is anything to go by.

And there will be an even greater reliance on Lewandowski at Euro 2020 with strikers Krzysztof Piatek and Arkadiusz Milik ruled out of the tournament because of injury.

As a result, Piotr Zielinski, a midfielder at Italian team Napoli, could line up alongside Lewandowski but drop deep more often in attempt to link up play.

Slovakia is another team with one standout, but Marek Hamsik isn't the player of old. The playmaker — as renowned for his Mohawk as his ability on the ball — turns 34 in July and has disappeared from the scene over the past two seasons, having ended his 11-year spell at Napoli in 2019 to join Chinese club Dalian.

Still classy on the ball, there are doubts about how much influence Hamsik can have against the more high-profile opponents and Slovakia is in quite a tough group, with Spain and Sweden as future opponents.

This will be Slovakia's third appearance at a major tournament since becoming an independent country in 1993, and the class of 2021 will do well to follow its predecessors in advancing from the group stage.

Scotland back at last, takes on Czech Republic

Scotland's nearly quarter-century wait is about to end.

The Scots haven't competed in a major men's soccer tournament since the 1998 World Cup in France, but that will change on Monday when the team takes on the Czech Republic at the European Championship.

It's been a long time coming for the Tartan Army. And although there isn't much expectation for a serious run at Euro 2020, the Scottish fans are happy to be here.

That was evident on Saturday night with Glasgow in full party mode just a week after the city's restaurants and pubs were allowed to reopen indoor seating areas. Dozens of fans sang near the main George Square, and street stalls sold "No Scotland, No Party" flags. There was no sign of the sectarianism that has blighted club soccer in this city.

The main objective for Scotland coach Steve Clarke will be to get at least a draw against the Czech Republic, and hope they can advance to the next round from Group D.

One of the biggest headaches for Scotland ahead of the tournament was that two of his best players, captain Andy Robertson and Kieran Tierney, normally play in the same position at left back.

But Clarke has found a way to make it work, with both playing on the left — Tierney in a back three and Robertson in a more advanced role at left wingback. And the coach also has to decide whether to start 20-year-old Billy Gilmour, who has impressed of late.

There have been some bumps along the way. Scotland had to set up its training camp in northeast England because the team qualified for the postponed tournament one year after its group rivals.

That allowed Croatia and Czech Republic to book Scotland's premier training bases at St. Andrews and the national training center in Edinburgh. But then last month they canceled plans to use them, citing UEFA concerns about local COVID-19 rules in Scotland.

But Clarke has said that there are benefits, with less distractions than if the team's camp was based in Scotland.

One distraction Scotland hasn't wanted is the recent criticism that the team's players won't take a knee before kickoff of Euro 2020 matches. Clarke argued that the purpose of the anti-racism gesture "has been diluted and undermined by the continuation of abuse towards players." Instead, he said the team would "stand up" to racism.

The team backtracked slightly and said it would kneel before kickoff of Scotland's match against England at Wembley Stadium in London on June 18.