Spain will look to put their fraught preparations behind them when they begin their Euro 2020 campaign against Sweden on Monday.
The past week has been one of real uncertainty for La Roja following Sergio Busquets' positive test for coronavirus.
The senior squad were forced to isolate, with back-up options summoned from holidays to take part in a parallel training bubble in case of further infections, while the Under-21s took to the field for last Monday's final warm-up friendly against Lithuania.
Diego Llorente returned what was later confirmed to be a false positive test and, thankfully for coach Luis Enrique, there were no further cases.
Llorente, who was applauded by team-mates after returning to training, said: "The reception was one of the most special things that has happened to me.
"It's a sign of the unity the whole team has. The team is very united, and that reception was something I didn't expect."
Fostering unity in the side has been of paramount importance to Luis Enrique, especially amid the consternation back in the capital over his decision not to include Sergio Ramos, or indeed any Real Madrid players, in his squad.
The former Barcelona boss has a mixture of experience and uncertainty at this level as he bids to lead Spain to a record fourth European Championship triumph and third in the past five tournaments.
They begin Group E in Seville against Sweden, who have lost the previous two meetings at major championships and kept only one clean sheet in their previous 12 games against Spain.
Janne Anderson's side have lost six of their past eight games at the Euros, their only win in that run coming against France back in 2012. They scored just once at Euro 2016, too – and that was an own goal from Republic of Ireland defender Ciaran Clark.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Spain – Thiago Alcantara
With Busquets missing at least against Sweden, it may well fall on Liverpool midfielder Thiago Alcantara to operate as dictator-in-chief in the Spain midfield.
He completed 51 of 56 passes in the friendly draw with Portugal on June 4, exactly the same number as Busquets, so the shift in role should not prove too disruptive.
Sweden – Alexander Isak
The loss of Zlatan Ibrahimovic to injury before the tournament means the Sweden goalscoring burden is firmly on the shoulders of Alexander Isak.
The Real Sociedad striker scored 17 times in LaLiga last season but only has two senior international goals since 2019.
KEY OPTA FACTS
- This is the fourth meeting between Spain and Sweden at a major tournament (World Cup and European Championship), after World Cup 1950 (3-1 to Sweden), World Cup 1978 (1-0 to Spain) and Euro 2008 (2-1 to Spain).
- Spain have reached the knockout stages of the European Championship in five of their past six participations, the only exception coming in 2004 when they were eliminated in the group phase.
- La Roja have lost only two of their previous 16 games at the European Championship (W11 D3) with those two defeats coming in their last two matches (against Croatia and Italy, June 2016).
- Spain's last 37 goals in the European Championship finals have all been scored from inside the box. Their last attempt to be scored from distance was Raul's strike against Slovenia in the group stages of the 2000 edition.
- Sweden are taking part in their seventh European Championship. In fact, since their first participation as Euro hosts in 1992 – which remains their best performance (semi-finalists) – they have qualified for every tournament except 1996.
Hurtig the hero after late goal sends Arsenal into Champions League quarters
Lina Hurtig's 89th minute winner ensured Arsenal progressed to the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League after edging Juventus 1-0 on Thursday.
After being frustrated for large parts of the encounter, Hurtig bundled home from close range after Martina Lenzini's poor clearance to book the Gunners' place in the last eight.
Despite Arsenal dominating the early exchanges, it was Juventus who had the first sight of goal, though Eva Schatzer's effort was easy for Daphne van Domselaar to gather.
In a first half that saw just two shots on target, both coming from the visitors, Renee Slegers' substitutes proved to be the difference for Arsenal.
Slegers introduced Beth Mead, Stina Blackstenius and Hurtig late on, with the latter somehow putting Kim Little's cross over the bar from five yards out.
However, the Swede would atone for her earlier error, combining with fellow substitute Blackstenius to net against her former club and send them out of the competition with two group games remaining.
Meanwhile, in Group D, Barcelona edged closer to the quarter-finals of the competition with a convincing 4-1 victory over St. Polten at the Generali Arena.
The reigning champions are still three points behind Manchester City following their 2-1 win over Hammarby, and know a win against the Swedes next month will see them progress.
Kika Nazareth opened the scoring in the 20th minute after capitalising on a mistake by Kamila Dubcova, notching her second nine minutes later from close range.
Barca found themselves three goals up at the break when Vicky Lopez netted her first goal in the competition to put the result beyond doubt.
There was also a landmark moment for Alexia Putellas, who netted her 200th goal for the club with a well-taken effort into the far corner.
Valentina Madl took some of the shine off an otherwise impressive display from the visitors, who have now taken their tally to 20 goals from their four matches in the competition.
Guardiola agrees two-year contract extension with Man City
Pep Guardiola will be Manchester City manager for at least two more seasons after 2024-25, after he signed a two-year contract extension on Thursday.
The 53-year-old was coming to the end of his City deal, which was due to expire at the end of the current campaign, but he has opted to remain at the Etihad Stadium.
The deal itself will take Guardiola's tenure at the club to over a decade, making him City's longest-serving manager since Les McDowall in 1963.
There had been suggestions that he may leave at the end of the season following the announcement that director of football Txiki Begiristain was on his way out.
Guardiola was strongly linked with the England job after Gareth Southgate resigned in the wake of their Euro 2024 final defeat, but the Football Association appointed Thomas Tuchel last month.
“Manchester City means so much to me," Guardiola said. “This is my ninth season here; we have experienced so many amazing times together. I have a really special feeling for this football club.
“That is why I am so happy to be staying for another two more seasons.
“Thank you to everyone for continuing to trust and support me – The Owner, The Chairman Khaldoon, Ferran, Txiki, the players and, of course, the fans… everyone connected to Manchester City. It has always been an honour, a pleasure and a privilege to be here.
“I have said this many times before, but I have everything a manager could ever wish for, and I appreciate that so much.
“Hopefully, now we can add more trophies to the ones we have already won. That will be my focus.”
Having been appointed in 2016, Guardiola is by some distance Manchester City's most successful manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies during his time at the club.
That list includes their first-ever Champions League triumph in 2023 and six Premier League titles, including an unprecedented four on the spin.
He also boasts a 72.04% win percentage across all competitions, which is unsurprisingly the highest of any full-time City manager in history.
Shaw at the double as Man City progress in Champions League
Khadija Shaw scored twice as Manchester City beat Hammarby 2-1 to seal their place in the Women's Champions League quarter-finals.
Gareth Taylor's team entered Thursday's game with a perfect record in Group D, and their fourth win in as many European matches ensured they finished in the top two.
Shaw—the leading scorer in the Women's Super League this season with eight goals—put them ahead in the 31st minute, driving into the area after taking in Yui Hasegawa's pass before seeing her shot deflect into the top corner.
Shaw was booked for celebrating in front of the home fans despite appearing to have objects thrown at her from the stands, and Hammarby should have levelled when Julia Blakstad fired wide 10 minutes later.
The hosts did draw level three minutes into the second half as Ellen Wangerheim tapped home while City's Laura Blindkilde Brown was down appealing for a free-kick.
That parity was short-lived, though, as Shaw blasted into the top corner from 25 yards out, taking her overall tally for this season to 12 goals in all competitions.
In Group C, meanwhile, Bayern Munich lost their perfect record as they played out a 1-1 draw with Valerenga, boosting Arsenal's hopes of topping the pile.
Jovana Damnjanovic came off the bench to put Bayern ahead 15 minutes from time in Norway, but Elise Thorsnes headed home following an 88th-minute corner to snatch a point for the hosts.
Arsenal could now move within a point of Bayern when they face Juventus in Group C's other match later on Thursday.
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