Sweden vs England
The Three Lions may be roaring in Russia, but the fight is far from over as they now face a strong and unpredictable Sweden side.
England have made a great impression on their way to the quarter-finals. Despite being one of the top five favourites to win FIFA 2018, expectations aren’t really high on the young team headed by a relatively unproven coach in Gareth Southgate.
Yet, here they are, three wins away from the title they crave so much. The inventors of the Beautiful Game haven’t tasted World Cup glory for 52 years, but they undoubtedly have the best shot at ending that drought this year.
However, Southgate and his boys know they can’t look too far ahead and be overconfident heading to the last eight. Not against Sweden who have proven they can bite despite being underrated.
England aren’t the first higher-ranked team that Sweden will face in the competition, and Janne Andersson will certainly hope they won’t be the last.
Talking Points
These two nations couldn’t be more opposite when it comes to style of play. England have a powerful frontline headed by the ever-outstanding Harry Kane, while Sweden are defensively sound and are always tough to break as Mexico and Switzerland learned in recent days.
The Three Lions have already scored nine goals in the competition, six of which came from their game against Panama. Kane has scored six for the team and is currently leading the chase for the World Cup Golden Boot award.
Nevertheless, England’s defence remains suspect and it’s worth noting that they have conceded in all of their matches in this edition of the World Cup. In fact, fans don’t have to look further than the Three Lions’ round-of-16 match with Colombia to see how vulnerable their defence is.
Southgate’s side did well holding their ground against the Cafeteros, but they eventually collapsed and allowed Colombia to hit an equaliser in stoppage time and send the game into a shoot-out.
Sure, England have a strong offence, but they could be in great danger if they don’t buckle up at the back.
In contrast, Sweden’s strength is their defence. They smothered sixth-ranked Switzerland with their formidable defensive wall, and that alone could pose plenty of problems for England’s offensive unit.
The Swedes already have three clean sheets in the tournament and could have produced one of the best FIFA 2018 highlights had they pulled off a draw with Germany in their second game in the group stage.
Of course, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic long gone, Sweden no longer possess a threat on the offensive end. However, their players are well-organised and know their roles, allowing them to win games amid their attacking on-field limitations.
The Swedes lack a true star but make up for it by working hard and efficiently. They have also been consistent and have established themselves as legitimate threats on the counter-attack.
The pressure is on England to live up to expectations, and the burden couldn’t be any bigger considering that it’s already the quarters of a World Cup.
For Sweden, they remain ambitious but would gladly embrace the underdog label. After all, it doesn’t really matter considering that they only have one thing in mind.
“It’s just full steam ahead and, God dammit, we are going to put in a bloody good match,” Andersson said after Sweden’s victory of Switzerland. “We are not satisfied with this. We want to win the next match.”
History
While England are favourites, history tells us that this match-up could go either way.
In their 24 meetings overall, the Englishmen have won eight to Sweden’s seven, while the other nine ended in a draw.
Their last encounter, though, was in a friendly in 2012. The Swedes thrashed England back then, scoring four goals to the Three Lions’ two. Nonetheless, that was a far different time as Ibrahimovic was still with Sweden and, in fact, scored all their goals in the game.
Furthermore, the two nations have faced each other two times in a World Cup before. And as fate would have it, both games ended in a draw!
What are the odds?
Despite what they have shown so far, Sweden are overwhelming underdogs with 1X2 odds at 3.95. A draw is a more likely result at 3.20!
England are at 1X2 @ 1.99, with SBOBET Asian Handicap sports betting giving them a -0.25 handicap that pays out at 1.70.
Meanwhile, considering that it is expected to be a game of few clear-cut chances, our FIFA 2018 betting odds have Under 2.25 paying out at 1.67 and a Total Goal 2-3 at 1.96.
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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