England hasn’t reached the semifinals of the FIFA World Cup since 1990, when the Three Lions finished in fourth place in a tournament hosted in Italy. But now, English fans have dreams of getting back to the final four – or perhaps even further – ahead of their team’s quarterfinal match against Sweden.
Sweden is also trying to recapture some of their former glory, attempting to make a fifth World Cup semifinal and the country’s first since 1994.
Southgate Shows Respect
England is undoubtedly the more talented side of the two, but that doesn’t mean that they’re in for an easy time on Saturday. Sweden has been an impressively organized team, capable of enduring for long periods on defense while waiting to hit back on a counter or take advantage of teams that stretch themselves too thin in search of goals.
That’s a reality that English manager Gareth Southgate has repeatedly emphasized since his team advanced to the quarterfinals by defeating Colombia in a penalty shootout on Tuesday.
“Sweden are often underestimated, I have real respect for them,” Southgate told reporters after the victory. “We have always viewed them at our level, and I don’t think that’s right, because their tournament record is better than ours.”
Downplaying expectations may be a smart move, as England is no stranger to being let down by its football team in big moments. And excitement is certainly building back at home, where even Wimbledon is being impacted: with the tennis tournament refusing to put matches on their outdoor television screens, local pubs are expecting an exodus from the All England Club to create enormous crowds on Saturday afternoon.
Stopping Kane Key for Sweden
Despite England’s strong start to the tournament, they haven’t exactly been breaking down defenses on a regular basis, as only two of their nine goals have come from open play. If there is one obvious danger man, it is Harry Kane, who already has six goals to lead the tournament — something Sweden is well aware of.
“He’s incredibly skilled, not just at penalties but as a striker,” Swedish captain Andreas Granqvist said of Kane after a training session on Friday. “He’s good at everything and it’s going to be a very tough match against him. But we’re going to do everything to stop him.”
Containing Kane would only be half of what Sweden must do to score an upset over England, however. The Swedes will also have to find a way to score, something that isn’t their forte by reputation. But Sweden has scored six goals and has yet to be shut out in any of their four games so far in the World Cup, and England is well aware that they are capable of punishing opponents who underestimate them.
“Sweden are good on the counterattack and we need to be aware of that,” said English right back Kieran Trippier. “We just need to move the ball quickly if they do sit off…that is how we will hurt teams.”
Bookmakers expect the more talented English side to come out on top, with William Hill giving England 2/5 odds of advancing to the semifinal. Sweden can be backed at 15/8 to go through.
The winner will play either Russia or Croatia in the semifinal on Wednesday. England (7/2) is considered one of the tournament favorites, while Sweden (22/1) has the longest odds of any side remaining in the World Cup.
