Sweden take on the visitors Belgium in the round 1 match of UEFA Euro 2024 qualification. The match will be played on Friday, February 24th at Friends Arena (Solna).
Sweden under current coach Janne Andersson shone at the World Cup ‘18. First, the Scandinavians sensationally knocked out Italy in the playoffs, and then reached the quarterfinals at the tournament itself. They expected at least the same at Euro, but after a good group stage, these “yellow-blues” ran into Ukraine in the first round of the playoffs – a team in the same colors – and lost to them in extra time! It seems that they never recovered from that blow. Failing to qualify for the World Cup ‘22 could still be attributed to unfortunate circumstances. After all, the Scandinavians had to play extra time against the Czech Republic a year ago, and then went to visit “fresh” Poland – and quite predictably lost to them, which is why they didn't go to Qatar. That's where the real failure was, in the Nations League. It was the Swedes who were the favorites in a group with Norway, Slovenia, and Serbia, but in the end, they only collected 4 points and were relegated to Division C. They need to redeem themselves, and it is noteworthy that the same coaching staff that worked in previous cycles will have a chance to do so.
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The “Red Devils” not so long ago were considered one of the strongest national teams in the world. It was this generation that achieved the maximum result in the form of a “bronze” medal at the World Cup. But that was back in 2018. There have been mediocre results in the European Championship and the Nations League since then. And in Qatar, the Belgium national team completely fell apart. They only managed a minimum victory over the outsider, Canada. Then came the shock of a 0-2 defeat to Morocco – who could have predicted that a representative of North Africa would make it to the semifinals? The Belgians couldn't even score against experienced Croatians, and those 0-0 draws turned out to be fatal. Scandals and conflicts in the locker room were uncovered during the tournament, and the coaching staff couldn't handle them at all. As a result, Roberto Martinez left (and has since taken over the Portuguese national team), and he was replaced by Domenico Tedesco. This is the 37-year-old German's first similar experience. And he will have a difficult task ahead of him, as some leaders have either stopped performing or have long been on the decline – such as Eden Hazard's regression at Real Madrid. Even Lukaku has been struggling lately. On the other hand, there are top footballers led by Courtois and De Bruyne, and traditionally, there is a lot of talented youth.
Belgium has won 5 games and drawn 3 out of 8 head-to-head matches. Moreover, the "Red Devils" have won all 3 recent confrontations. Judging by the odds, the visitors are more likely to win. However, the Swedes definitely do not want to start with a failure at home. Therefore, we recommend betting on "total over 2.0 goals scored".
Prediction for the match: Over 2.0 scored goals.
