Samara: England beat Sweden 2-0 in Samara in the quarter-final of the FIFA World Cup 2018 and booked their spot in the semi final for the first time in 28 years. Goals from Harry Maguire in the first half and Dele Alli in the second were enough to take England through.
Sweden did have couple of good chances to score in both halves but England keeper and man of the match Jordan Pickford denied Swedish strikers to keep his team in the game. England will now take on either Croatia or hosts Russia in the semifinal on 11th July in Moscow.
It was just a second England victory over Sweden in nine competitive meetings, and sets up a clash with either hosts Russia or Croatia on July 11 in Moscow for a place in the final. Southgate stuck with the same team that overcame Colombia on penalties in the last 16, while Sebastian Larsson returned for Sweden after missing the 1-0 win over Switzerland through suspension.
Viktor Claesson drilled over for Sweden early on with an ambitious attempt from distance, while Harry Kane, the tournament's leading scorer with six goals, dragged wide after a penetrating run by Raheem Sterling.
Sweden manager Janne Andersson had warned his side England were a match for them at set-pieces, and so it proved when Maguire connected with Ashley Young's corner after a low-key first half hour.
Maguire outjumped the much smaller Emil Forsberg to nod low into the corner, as England scored for the eighth time in Russia from a dead-ball situation.
The lively Sterling should have doubled the lead on the stroke of half-time when he brilliantly controlled Jordan Henderson's lofted pass, but he was unable to find a way past Robin Olsen and his follow-up was blocked by Andreas Granqvist.
Pickford had relatively little to do in a quiet first half, but the England goalkeeper produced a vital stop to claw away a Marcus Berg header minutes after the restart.
England promptly cranked up the pressure and pulled further ahead on 59 minutes when a completely unmarked Alli sent a thumping header past Olsen after a first-time cross by Jesse Lingard.
Maguire then lashed over after a scene of panic in the Sweden area as England chased a third goal, although they were twice indebted to Pickford for preserving their two-goal lead.
The Everton shot-stopper thrust out a hand to superbly keep out Claesson's low strike from 10 yards following a neat lay-off by Berg.
Pickford then showed terrific reflexes to tip over an effort from Berg, who shot on the turn after being picked out in the area by substitute John Guidetti.
Southgate withdrew Henderson for Eric Dier in the closing stages and will have a full squad to choose from in the semi-final, injuries permitting.
Highlights of Sweden vs England, FIFA World Cup 2018 quarter-final in Samara:
21:22 hrs IST: That’s it, England are through and Sweden are out. 2-0 the final scoreline. Thanks for joining us.
21:17 hrs IST: 5 minutes of added on time.
21:14 hrs IST: A clutch of yellow cards for both teams, Maguire and Guidetti booked.
21:13 hrs IST: The game has hit a dull phase, both teams know that the result is now academic.
21:08 hrs IST: Couple of good chances at either end but it all comes to nothing and the scoreline remains unaltered.
21:03 hrs IST: England are close to making it to their first semifinal at a World Cup for 28 years. Big achievement for such a young team.
20:57 hrs IST: Good chance for Marcus Berg! his shot at goal from 8 yards out is over the bar. If Sweden get one, you never know what might happen.
20:56 hrs IST: England are oozing confidence and Sweden it’s look like there heads have gone. England have had a couple of very presentable opportunities.
20:53 hrs IST: Double substitution for Sweden, Olsson and Guidetti on for Forsberg and Toivonen.
20:51 hrs IST: Sweden may as well throw all but the kitchen sink at this, there is nothing to lose and if previous 60 or so minutes are anything to go by, they are going down with a whimper.
20:47 hrs IST:GOAL!!!!! England double their lead against Sweden, Dele Alli with a header to put England in a commanding position.
20:42 hrs IST: Close shave for Sweden, Harry Maguire wins two headers and tries to play it across goal but it’s cleared by Sweden on both occasions.
20:38 hrs IST: Sweden have picked up their efforts and are knocking on the door but much more is needed.
20:34 hrs IST: Fine save by Jordan Pickford to deny Marcus Berg. his goal bound effort was stopped by keeper’s left hand
20:31 hrs IST: The stats are on England side, Sweden need to put in an almighty effort to pull this one out of the bag.
20:31 hrs IST: Back underway. England leading Sweden 1-0.
20:17 hrs IST: Half-time and Sweden are lucky to be only down by one goal.
20:14 hrs IST: England have a couple of good chances since the gaol went in. They could and should have gotten more comfortable here.
20:09 hrs IST: England looking comfortable, Sweden not doing enough when the onus is on them.
20:06 hrs IST: Sweden can’t sit back now, they have to come out and play and that will play right into England’s hands.
20:00 hrs IST: Goal!!!!! Harry Maguire gives England the lead with a bullet header from a corner. 1-0 to England.
19:56 hrs IST: England wing-backs Kieran Trippier and Ashley young getting forward on every occasion . they are getting in good positions and Swedish full backs are finding it difficult to cope with.
19:53 hrs IST: England’s superior quality beginning to shine through. They have been much the better side in last 5-7 minutes. Sweden Shaky
19:49 hrs IST: Chance!!! Sterling with a mazy run and the ball goes to England captain Harry Kane but his shot goes inches wide.
19:47 hrs IST: Sweden’s pass accuracy has been 56% and England have 78% success. Tells you all about the game. It can only get better.Fingers crossed it does.
19:42 hrs IST: A shot from fully 30 yards from Claesson but it’s high over the bar. Pickford not happy with England defenders for allowing him room to shoot.
19:41 hrs IST: Kieran Trippier shoots but it’s too comfortable for Robin Olsen.
19:40 hrs IST: The wayward passes continue. Ashley Young with a poor pass, he was under no pressure but it went out for a throw.
19:36 hrs IST: A lot of long balls early on, no rhythm to the passing. Possession has been dominated by England so far.
19:32 hrs IST:Cautious start by both teams
19:30 hrs IST: We have kick-off in Samara.
19:25 hrs IST: It will be a tight match today, Sweden don’t concede too many and England with three at the back have been very good .
19:25 hrs IST: The national anthems are being sung loudly and proudly.
19:19 hrs IST: The team news is in, here is how the two teams will line up.
Sweden: Olsen, Krafth, Lindelof, Granqvist, Augustinsson, Claesson, Larsson, Ekdal, Forsberg, Berg, Toivonen.
Subs:Johnsson, Olsson, Guidetti, Svensson, Helander, Hiljemark, Jansson, Rohden, Durmaz, Thelin, Nordfeldt.
England: Pickford, Walker, Stones, Maguire, Trippier, Alli, Henderson, Lingard, Young, Sterling, Kane.
Subs:Butland, Rose, Dier, Vardy, Welbeck, Cahill, Jones, Delph, Rashford, Loftus-Cheek, Alexander-Arnold, Pope.
Referee: Bjorn Kuipers (Holland)
19:01 hrs IST: England appear favourites, but since their last World Cup semi-final appearance at Italia 90, the Three Lions have won just three of 13 competitive matches against Nordic nations.
19:00 hrs IST: Hello and welcome to HT’s live coverage of the third FIFA World Cup 2018 quarter-final between England and Sweden.
The highlight of Sweden’s campaign so far has been a 3-0 win over Mexico and a 1-0 victory over Switzerland in the last 16.
Sweden have, of course, enjoyed some memorable World Cup campaigns in the past -- reaching the final on home soil in 1958 where they lost to Brazil and then the semi-finals in 1994 where again the South Americans ended their dreams.
Swedish captain Andreas Granqvist isn’t worried about England enjoying the greater possession and expects his team to stick to their tried and tested approach.
