Juventus wonderkid Dejan Kulusevski is still awaiting his first start of the tournament, but he looks set to star from kick-off this evening against Ukraine.

The 21 year-old was extremely unlucky to suffer a positive Coronavirus test just before the opening matchweek, along with team-mate Mattias Svanberg, forcing him to miss their first two group matches, before limited training meant that he was only given a role as a substitute for their third and final group-stage clash, although they were in the comfortable position of having already secured qualification after two matches.

Kulusevski is now expected to be made available from kick-off, although which role in the team is yet to be seen.

The youngster has played predominantly on the left-wing for Juve this term, whilst filling in as a second-striker also, and his ball-retention skills and ability to torment defenders could prove disastrous for the Ukrainians, who have already shipped five goals already.

Sweden should have the edge having escaped their group unbeaten, while their opponents only scraped through with one win and two losses, landing one of the six third-placed spots.

I’ll be supporting Kulu this evening, and am tipping him for today’s Star of the Match award, with him being the standout on the team sheets for me.

Patrick