The Euro 2016 weekend preview: 17-19 June

Group E: Italy v Sweden

Friday, 1.30pm, ITV 1

Italy’s Euro 2016 squad may not have the quality of the past, but even Maldini, Baresi and Pirlo would have been impressed by their country’s performance on Monday night. A typically Italian 2-0 victory over group favourites and dark horses Belgium showed that Antonio Conte’s men are stronger than most onlookers originally believed. Built on the Juventus axis of goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon and defenders Andrea Barzagli, Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini means that the Italians’ lack of big-name attacking players isn’t too much cause for concern.

Their opponents have been labelled ‘Zlatan Ibrahimović + 10’ and anyone watching their 1-1 draw against Ireland on Monday would have found it hard to disagree. When Zlatan has an off-day Sweden do too and a poor performance was widely criticised for a lack of attacking creativity. Italy are certainly the favourites this afternoon, but if Sweden’s talisman is on his game then he has the ability to single-handedly haul his country to a vital three points.

Group E: Belgium v Republic of Ireland

Saturday, 1pm, ITV 1

If their defeat to Italy is anything to go by, Belgium’s ‘Golden Generation’ are in danger of underachieving even more than England’s version of the mid-2000’s. Despite possessing all the ingredients of a strong tournament team – a world-class goalkeeper, solid defence and dynamic, skilful attackers – the Belgians looked disjointed on Monday. Coach Marc Wilmots has been criticised for not being able to bring the best out of a squad that looks scarily good on paper and anything less than a win over Ireland will be unacceptable.

Picking up a point against Sweden gave the Irish hope of progressing from Euro 2016’s own ‘Group of Death’ and if they score first it’ll ramp up the pressure on their opponents. Beating world champions Germany in qualifying has given Ireland the belief that they can beat anyone, which could prove crucial. A draw would be fantastic, a win phenomenal, but the gap in quality might be just too much.

Group A: France v Switzerland

Sunday, 7.30pm, BBC 1

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Euro 2016 hosts, France, haven’t quite hit the heights expected of them so far. If football matches were only 85 minutes long then the French would have two points from their opening two matches – instead, they head into this Group A decider on maximum points. Yet international tournaments are so often won by teams who laboured early on but saved their best performances for the knockout stages. Switzerland are the best team the hosts will have faced and in-players such as Xherdan Shaqiri can punish any complacency.

The Swiss enter this match with second place in Group A not quite confirmed. Their 1-1 draw with Romania on Wednesday meant that if they lose and the Romanians beat Albania then they will be shunted down into third. Though this would probably still be enough to reach the last 16, Switzerland would endure an anxious wait as the other groups play their remaining matches. The aim will be to secure the draw that guarantees the runners-up position – but teams as strong as France are even more dangerous when they have something to prove.