- It feels very fun that we can offer a glow of football summer next year. The European Football Championship means high quality matches at the best broadcast time and Sweden's opening match against Spain in SVT is no exception. The match is one of the most exciting events in advance, and I believe that Sweden's premiership can be one of the championship's most watched matches, says Åsa Edlund Jönsson, SVT Sports Manager.
TV4 broadcasts the opening match of the soccer championship between Turkey and Italy on June 12. SVT then broadcasts Sweden's two preliminary group games. First against Spain in Bilbao (15 June) and then in Dublin on midsummer evening against the winner of the playoff group B (19 June). The final group game match in Dublin between Sweden and Poland will be broadcast on TV4 on June 24. A possible eighth quarter final for Sweden will be broadcast on TV4, while a possible quarter final will be broadcast on SVT. If Sweden goes all the way to the semi-finals, that match will be shown on TV4. The European Final, played at Wembley in London, is broadcast on TV4.
That Spain is a tough opponent, Sweden already felt in the European Championship qualifiers when the Spaniards took a clear 3-0 victory in Madrid, but in the home match, Sweden were just minutes from victory in a match which ended 1-1.
Sweden's second match will be against the winner in the play-off game, which will be decided at the end of March. Some of the teams Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovakia, Northern Ireland and Ireland will qualify for Sweden's group and meet Sweden in Dublin on midsummer evening.
- The 1994 Summer Olympics, Arne Hegerfors coined the classic words "Now we celebrate midsummer in the Pontiac Silverdome". Next year I hope the Swedish people celebrate midsummer with football and SVT again. Because when the dance around the midsummer bar is completed, it becomes perfect to sit in front of the TV with the herring and be drawn into the mood when Sweden plays a real key match, continues Åsa Edlund Jönsson.
In addition to the two Sweden matches, the group game contains several major matches in SVT. One of the absolute highlights is the meeting between England and Croatia, the World Cup finalist of 2018. Another top match will be played on June 24 when the group play ends with the meeting between the reigning world champion France and the reigning European champion Portugal. The superstar of the future Kylian Mbappé is set against the biggest European star Cristiano Ronaldo of the past decade.
- Football European Championships, yes it is indeed a championship that engages and touches, which of course is absolutely wonderful. Therefore, it also feels like a privilege to be a commentator and then get the chance to convey what is happening on the plan to the Swedish people, says Chris Härenstam, expert commentator SVT Sport.