Swedish challenge for Spain

Madrid, June 13: After a week without training and three years of upheaval, Spain head into their Euro 2020 opener against Sweden on Monday determined to leave the past behind but unsure about what comes next.

Luis Enrique was appointed to ring the changes in the aftermath of the 2018 World Cup, when going out on penalties to Russia had made it three consecutive failures to reach the quarterfinals of a major tournament.

At La Cartuja in Seville on Monday, only Jordi Alba will remain from the Euro success nine years ago, with Sergio Ramos cut and Sergio Busquets self-isolating after testing positive for Covid last weekend.

And yet while the names bear almost no resemblance to what went before, Spain’s fresh mix of promising youngsters and high-end performers arrive without any real sense of what now fills the void.

BAD BLOOD BETWEEN CZECH & SCOTLAND

Scotland’s first match at a major tournament for 23 years is laced with acrimony for the Czech Republic, who travel to Hampden on Monday having been forced into a last-minute change of training camp and without suspended defender Ondrej Kudela.

Kudela was hit with a 10-match ban for racially abusing Rangers midfielder Glen Kamara when Slavia Prague visited Scotland in the Europa League last 16 in March.

The widespread condemnation of Kudela in Britain has not been reflected in his homeland, where Slavia and many of his club and international teammates have stood by the 34-year-old and claimed there was a lack of evidence against him.

LEWANDOWSKI OUT TO IMPROVE RECORD

Robert Lewandowski’s standing as one of the greatest ever strikers at club level is surely undisputed after a recordbreaking 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.

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