On Saturday afternoon at 16:00, Sweden and England will try to reach the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Their matchup will take place in Samara’s Cosmos Arena.
Sweden vs England preview
This is hardly a quarter-final people were expecting to see, but it’s a quarter-final they’ll get anyway. Janne Andersson has his players believing. Having previously crossed swords with France, Holland, Italy and Germany, his team is not one to get nervous against a more reputable opponent. The victory over Switzerland proved once again The Blagult are a resilient bunch. Much like Portugal in Euro 2016, they find ways to win. Their attack is not prolific by any stretch of the imagination, but it is good enough to be underestimated.
England was certainly disappointed to concede in stoppage time against Colombia, yet the eventual outcome made it all worthwhile. A huge gray cloud over their heads disappeared when Eric Dier scored the winning goal, giving England its first ever World Cup penalty shootout win. It was a sigh of relief for an entire nation petrified of penalties due to the national teams’ struggles over the years.
Despite a bevy of yellow cards handed out by American referee Mark Geiger on Tuesday night, no England player will be suspended for the game against Sweden. Andersson will be missing his right back Mikael Lustig. Bologna’s Emil Krafth will be his likely replacement. Vice-captain Sebastian Larsson will be back from suspension after missing the game versus Switzerland.
Sweden vs England head-to-head
Since 1988, Sweden and England have faced each other 12 times (including friendlies). None of those meetings were in a knockout round of a competition. Their two World Cup group stage encounters in 2002 and 2006 finished in draws. Sweden won the 1992 European Championship match 2-1, while England won in Euro 2012. Overall, The Three Lions have managed to win only two times. The Swedes have won four, while the remaining six games didn’t have a winner.
Sweden vs England prediction
The presence of Dele Alli, Jesse Lingard and Raheem Sterling gives England quickness that not many teams have in this World Cup. They challenged Colombia’s rugged defense all game long and they will do the same to Sweden’s. Add Harry Kane and you realize why Granqvist and Lindelof will have their work cut out on Saturday afternoon. On the other hand, converting speed into chances has been an issue for Gareth Southgate’s lads thus far. Out of his team’s nine World Cup goals, four have been penalty kicks converted by Harry Kane (no wonder he’s the top goalscorer), three have come from set pieces and another was a deflection off Kane’s back foot.
These two squads are equally good at set pieces. From that aspect, they cancel each other out. Unless The Three Lions score early, expect to see a lot of attacking by England and a lot of defending by Sweden. Finding space between three central defenders on counter attacks will be tough for Marcus Berg and Ola Toivonen, so if they are to score, the Swedes will have to earn their goal(s) from positional play. Another low-scoring affair involving a Scandinavian team is on the horizon.
