Spain 0-0 Sweden: Talking points, as Olsen denies Enrique’s side win despite a dominant display

Alvaro Morata of Spain-Albin Ekdal of Sweden
Alvaro Morata of Spain-Albin Ekdal of Sweden

Spain were held to a goalless draw against Sweden in their opening game of the European Championships, and Luis Enrique will be disappointed with the two dropped points tonight. 

The home side were in cruise control throughout the game, and they should have picked up all three points today. Here at Anytime football, we look at the five major talking points from tonight’s contest. 

Utter dominance from Spain

The gulf in quality between the two sides was enormous tonight. No other team has dominated the opposition to this extent in the European Championships so far. 

Spain managed to break their own passing record they set against Ireland back in 2012. They produced 859 passes in that game. 

Tonight Spain came up with 917 passes compared to just 161 from Sweden. The away side were played off the park, and they will consider themselves lucky to escape with a draw. 

Luis Enrique will be hoping his side can turn this possession into clear cut opportunities and goals in the upcoming matches. 

Lack of a clinical finisher

 Enrique started with Alvaro Morata as his number nine, and the Juventus player underperformed massively. The 28-year-old missed a glorious opportunity to put his side ahead on the 37th minute when he was one on one with Robin Olsen. 

Morata suffered from the lack of confidence after the miss, and it was all downhill from there. One has to wonder why Gerard Moreno was not given the nod ahead of Morata tonight. 

The Villarreal forward had an exceptional season at club level, and he helped his side win the Europa League with a vital goal in the final. 

The spectacular Robin Olsen

The only reason Sweden have taken a point from his game is because of Robin Olsen. The Roma owned keeper was in outstanding form tonight, and he pulled off some magnificent saves from the likes of Gerard Moreno and Dani Olmo. 

The Swedish shot-stopper hasn’t had the best of seasons at the club level, but he managed to step up for his nation tonight. Olsen was let down by his defenders, but he managed to keep his side in the game with stunning saves throughout the match. 

Pedri already a standout player for his country

The 18-year-old was given a start against Sweden tonight, and he was outstanding for his country. 

The Barcelona youngster produced a mature performance alongside the likes of Rodri and Koke. He was calm and composed with the ball, and he created chances for his teammates with his incisive passing. Most of Spain’s play went through him, and he controlled the game without any problems. 

The Spanish youngster also displayed outstanding creativity and vision with accurate through balls, and there is no doubt that he could be a big player for Spain this summer. 

The prodigious Alexander Isak 

 The 21-year-old Real Sociedad striker made quite an impression despite not scoring a goal. He was lively throughout the game, and he almost created the winning goal of the game for his side with an exceptional solo run and dribble. 

The Swedish attacker had very little service, but he worked hard and tried to create chances for himself. The youngster took on the Spanish defence time and again, and he would have benefited with someone like Ibrahimovic alongside him.