Veteran Swedish forward Henrik Larsson predicted an "extremely tough" match Saturday when Sweden takes on Spain in Group D, the dpa reported.
"It will be an incredibly tough game, we know that," Larsson, 36, told Swedish radio on the eve of the match in the Austrian city of Innsbruck.
"We will have to play just as well as against Greece and even better," said Larsson, whose storied career includes stints at Celtic, Barcelona and Manchester United.
Asked about players on the Spanish side, Larsson said defender Carles Puyol "is like a pitbull, he never gives up" while Xavi and Andres Iniesta seemingly "have no hips, (they) can turn in any direction, anytime and at any speed, they are great players."
A difference compared with playing Greece was that the Spanish side were "better at passing the ball and had better confidence in their technique," Larsson said.
"We will have to be able to keep hold of the ball and try to get some free kicks so we can move up our team," he added.