MX23RW : Friday, November 8 13:24:28| >> :120:70574:70574:

Luis Enrique: 'We are in a group of favourites'

Luis Enrique: 'We are in a group of favourites'
© Reuters
The 2008 and 2012 European champions begin their challenge against Sweden in Seville on Monday.

Spain boss Luis Enrique insists his side are not favourites in Group E as they prepare to get their European Championship campaign under way against Sweden.

Enrique's squad is a far cry from the one which won the competition back-to-back in 2008 and 2012 but La Roja still boast some useful players.

Spain will also play Poland and Slovakia in the group phase and Enrique was pleased with the way his squad rounded off their tournament preparations in the friendly draw with Portugal this week.

"You can't say we're favourites – rather, we're in a group of favourites, given what the national team have won despite our most recent tournament performances," Enrique told uefa.com

"We need to show we are confident and I'll be reinforcing this to the players, but when I look back at how we played against Portugal I'm even more motivated.

"We aren't the tournament favourites either – the real favourites are the current champion. There are six or seven nations who can contend to be 'other' favourites and I'm happy if people reckon that we are in that group. I accept that pressure."

On the challenge of facing Sweden in Seville on Monday, Enrique said: "They don't have any player who might be regarded as a global star, but they stand out as a collective.

"We've played some games against them in the past and they had opportunities to hurt us. What's new now is that it'll be part of an official tournament, so I'm sure it's going to be tough and I hope we can rise to the challenge."

The two nations faced each other in the qualifying stages for Euro 2020, with Spain winning 3-0 in Madrid and drawing 1-1 in Solna as they topped the group ahead of Sweden.

Those games were enough to give Sweden boss Janne Andersson encouragement that they are capable of causing Spain problems.

"We still have the self-confidence from the Spain match and we feel we can beat them," Andersson told uefa.com.

"Playing Spain away is one of the toughest challenges in the world of football today. It's an exciting challenge and we need an absolute top performance, but we've had those in the past and I hope we can get another one.

"We know that if we can get everything to click, we absolutely have a chance."

ID:451232: cacheID:451232:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:3754:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Kepa Arrizabalaga in action for Chelsea on July 22, 2020
Read Next:
Report: Kepa to accept loan exit and pay cut
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
FT
Bengals
34-35
Ravens
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool108111961325
2Manchester CityMan City1072121111023
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest10541147719
4Chelsea105322012818
5Arsenal105321711618
6Aston Villa105321715218
7Tottenham HotspurSpurs1051422111116
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton104421714316
9Fulham104331413115
10Bournemouth104331312115
11Newcastle UnitedNewcastle104331010015
12Brentford104151920-113
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd10334912-312
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham103251319-611
15Leicester CityLeicester102441418-410
16Everton102351017-79
17Crystal Palace10145813-57
18Ipswich TownIpswich100551021-115
19Southampton10118719-124
20Wolverhampton WanderersWolves100371427-133


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!