Sweden Euro 2020 preview: Key players, strengths, weaknesses and expectations

Typically one of the dark horses of any major tournament they enter, there will be a few curious eyes cast over Sweden at this summer's Euros.

Manager Janne Andersson is yet to fully strike a balance between youth and experience, but even without the injured Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the Swedes pack a punch. After a disappointing Nations League campaign, they have rediscovered their winning touch too - and they will be hopeful that can drive them on to a run deep into the tournament.

But what can we realistically expect from Sweden, and who should we be looking out for when they go toe to toe with Spain, Poland and Slovakia in Group E? Read on to find out all you need to know.

Route to Euro 2020

Sweden's form since qualifying for the Euros has been mixed to say the least. They lost all but one of their Nations League matches in the last campaign, struggling to meaningfully compete with Portugal, Spain and Croatia as they went plummeting into League B.

Since then, they've picked up five wins on the trot, and although the quality of opposition has hardly been the strongest in that run, they have rediscovered some of the form that saw them march through qualification for Euro 2020.

The impressive Swedes landed a tough group with Spain and neighbours Norway, but took a creditable 21 points from 30 available to finish as runners up. Even more impressively, they only lost one of their ten matches, and that was a 3-0 defeat to Spain which flattered the former world champions.

Sweden had little trouble against the teams they should have been beating, taking maximum points against Romania, Malta and the Faroe Islands while conceding just once, though failure to beat Norway in either meeting made things harder for them than they had to be. But they got over the line and eventually finished four points clear of their Scandinavian rivals.

Strengths

While Sweden's previous success has been built around sitting deep and frustrating the opposition, things are slowly changing. The emergence of Alexander Isak and Dejan Kulusevski have enabled them to mix things up and shift away from what has worked for them in the past, and even without Zlatan in the squad, they have a few goals in them.

But it isn't all change. While the youthful energy provided by those two and Bologna's boy-wonder Mattias Svanberg gives Sweden an unpredictable X-factor they have lacked until now, what really makes them tick is an experienced core.

Andreas Granqvist, Sebastian Larsson and Marcus Berg - still going strong with more than 300 caps between them - are the battle-hardened warriors who make them a tough nut to crack.

Weaknesses

The absence of Zlatan can't really be ignored, can it? Sweden's hopes of a sustained run in the tournament appeared to have been given a major boost when he came out of retirement, but injury has ruled him out, meaning Sweden will have to look elsewhere for goals.

They have some options there, but with Isak and Kulusevski still finding their feet on the international stage, only 34-year-old Berg and Mainz's Robin Quaison have been reliable scorers for them. And let's be honest - neither of them will strike fear into the heart of an elite defence.

We've seen that exposed recently when Sweden came up against some of Europe's top teams in the Nations League, and failed to make a dent in Portugal or France.

They are a team in transition, and without the galvanising star power of Ibrahimovic, you feel they will struggle when they come face to face with a top side.

Key players

Emil Forsberg and Sebastian Larsson remain central to Sweden's creative output, and if they can get balls into the in-form Robin Quaison - who looks set to step up in lieu of Ibrahimovic - there may well be goals.

At the back, captain Andreas Granqvist may be one to avoid for your fantasy football team despite his penalty heroics in 2018. He's barely played due to injury this season, and now 36, manager Andersson recently admitted he is only in the squad to be on standby and lend his experience.

Victor Lindelof has stepped up in Granqvist's absence, though it's unclear who he will be paired with for their opening game - likely Rangers' Filip Helander, if the big centre-back is fit in time.

One last mention goes out to Dejan Kulusevski too - there may be a big tournament in the 21-year-old after a breakthrough season at Juventus.

Final squad

Andersson has named his final 26-player squad for the Euros.

Goalkeepers: Karl-Johan Johnsson (Copenhagen), Kristoffer Nordfeldt (Genclerbirligi), Robin Olsen (Everton)

Defenders: Emil Krafth (Newcastle United), Victor Lindelof (Manchester United), Marcus Danielson (Dalian Yifang), Pierre Bengtsson (Vejle), Ludwig Augustinsson (Werder Bremen), Pontus Jansson (Brentford), Filip Helander (Rangers), Mikael Lustig (AIK), Andreas Granqvist (Helsingborg)

Midfielders: Emil Forsberg (Leipzig), Ken Sema (Watford), Viktor Claesson (Krasnodar), Dejan Kulusevski (Juventus), Sebastian Larsson (AIK), Albin Ekdal (Sampdoria), Kristoffer Olsson (Krasnodar), Jens-Lys Cajuste (Midtjylland), Mattias Svanberg (Bologna), Gustav Svensson (Guangzhou)

Forwards: Marcus Berg (Krasnodar), Alexander Isak (Real Sociedad), Robin Quaison (Mainz), Jordan Larsson (Spartak Moscow)

Predictions

Sweden should be fun to watch, but they are at the beginning of a long process towards finding their identity beyond the bedrock of Granqvist, Larsson and Berg. Ultimately, it may take them a tournament or two before their obvious potential is realised.

If Andersson can find a way to balance youth with experience, then it's not out of the equation that they could repeat the feat of 2018 and run to the quarter-finals. Getting the better of Poland could be central to that as they navigate a tricky looking Group E.

But we shouldn't be expecting too much from a team who are still coming together and finding their feet as a unit.

Prediction: Last 16