Sweden vs. Ukraine – European Championship, June 29, 2021

Two of the less fancied nations come together on Tuesday at Hampden Park, as Sweden and Ukraine look to win a place in the quarterfinals of Euro 2020. Naturally, Sweden will be the favorite after surprisingly topping its group. But Ukraine is not here just to make up the numbers.

The bigger game of the night – in the neutrals’ eyes at least – will be taking place a few hundred miles south at Wembley. But, this promises to be an intriguing battle between two teams fighting to be part of a last-eight tie against England or Germany.

Read on to see how I think the game will go – and for my Sweden vs. Ukraine betting pick.

Some bookmakers have this game a little closer, but BetOnline has stretched the gap between the two-win bet prices and make Sweden a clear favorite to earn a quarterfinal place. I’m inclined to agree. The Scandinavian side has not always been pretty to watch during Euro 2020, but deservedly finished top of a group that included Spain – and have looked defensively strong.

Ukraine has been far less impressive and has only won one of its three games so far. There is still time for Andriy Shevchenko’s players to improve, but there needs to be a better all-around effort on Tuesday.

Janne Andersson’s side had the better of Spain in the first game in the group and then showed its mettle beating Slovakia and Poland. It is yet to lose a game in 2021 – and that draw with Spain was the only one of eight that it didn’t win.

The injury that kept Zlatan Ibrahimovic from taking part in this tournament has turned out to be something of a positive, as the rest of the squad have been forced to prove that they are good enough. They have been so far – and even after putting on some defensive masterclasses in its first two games, Sweden was able to show some style when it mattered against Poland.

Ukraine came into Euro 2020 on the back of a far more mixed record. There is some incredible talent in the squad – including Yarmolenko and Zinchenko – but the performances have been a little flat.

Shevchenko’s side has been frankly underwhelming so far. It was seeded in one of the easiest-looking groups and only sneaked into the round of 16 as the last of the best third-placed teams. Now his players must prove that it deserves to be here and battle for a place in the last eight.

The one thing that Ukraine really has going for it here is that Sweden has tended to rely on its defensive strength to get through to this stage. The Scandinavians showed that they could change up when needed against Poland, but Janne Andersson’s side seems quite happy winning by the odd goal.

That could mean that Ukraine will not be overrun, allowing it to grab an early goal. I think that is exactly what it needs if it is to stand any chance of progressing. But I also feel that Sweden will ultimately end up celebrating victory in Glasgow.