Sweden vs. England 2018 World Cup quarterfinal: Three Lions riding a wave of hope

Captain Harry Kane celebrates after England’s win over Colombia. (Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

Sweden vs. England

Quarterfinal, Samara Arena, Samara

Stars make a wager

Empty seats?

The atmosphere at Samara Arena might be quieter than expected tonight.

Combination of Germans handing back tickets and England/Sweden fans not being able to get flights and the atmosphere with 20 mins to go is more Carling Cup than World Cup
— Daniel McDonnell (@McDonnellDan) July 7, 2018

20 mins till KO and the ground still has plenty of empty seats. FIFA saying officially only 1600 English tickets sold. More will have got them through other means but still only a max of 3000 expected in Samara. Crazy for England’s first 1/4 final in 12 years.
— Natalie Pirks (@Natpirks) July 7, 2018

Starting lineups

England manager Gareth Southgate is sticking with the same lineup he used against Colombia, while Sweden has a few changes. Back in is Sebastian Larsson, who missed the match against Switzerland because of yellow card accumulation, and Emil Krafth is taking over for Mikael Lustig, who’s suspended.

Opening thoughts

The first quarterfinal from the, er, less traditional side of the bracket features teams that might be considered overachievers at this World Cup. No one expected much of Sweden, despite it having defeating world powers such as Portugal, France and Italy in international play over the past two years, perhaps due in part to the Swedes’ lack of star power. No one expected much of England because, despite a energetic and talented roster full of stars, its fan base has been conditioned well.

Both teams’ disregard for expectations should make for an interesting, if unpredictable, matchup. England arrives at its first quarterfinal since 2006 riding a fresh wave of hope after defeating Colombia in the round of 16 on penalties, which means it has now won two of its past eight shootouts. The 4-3 margin proved to fans of the Three Lions that this year might be different from past disappointments. On paper, they’ve got the talent to overpower Sweden.

But England Manager Gareth Southgate is rightly wary of the Swedes, who haven’t allowed a goal in five of their past six matches. Sweden is well organized and disciplined on defense, and it clearly doesn’t wilt in the presence of more traditional soccer powers — it got to the knockout round after finishing atop a group that was supposed to belong to Germany. Sweden also has a strong record against England on its side: It has won 13 of the teams’ past 15 meetings.

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When: Saturday, 10 a.m. Eastern.

How to watch on TV: Fox.

How to stream online: Fox Sports, the Fox Soccer Match Pass apps and FoxSportsGo.com.

How to watch in Spanish: Telemundo.

How to watch in Canada: Bell Media’s TSN and CTV networks, the TSN GO app and TSN.ca/live.

What’s next: The winner will face the Russia-Croatia winner in the semifinals Wednesday in Moscow.

[Complete World Cup quarterfinal and semifinal bracket]

Team Profiles

Sweden

Previous results: Defeated South Korea, 1-0. Lost to Germany, 2-1. Defeated Mexico, 3-0. Defeated Switzerland in the round of 16, 1-0.
Best World Cup finish: Second place, 1958.
Notable: Each of Sweden’s World Cup matches with England have come in the group stage. Both, in 2002 and 2006, resulted in draws.
FIFA world ranking: 24. Elo world ranking: 12.

England

Previous results: Defeated Tunisia, 2-1. Defeated Panama, 6-1. Lost to Belgium, 1-0. Defeated Colombia in the round of 16, 4-3 in a penalty shootout after drawing, 1-1.
Best World Cup finish: Champion, 1966.
Notable: England hasn’t reached the World Cup semifinals since 1990.
FIFA world ranking: 12. Elo world ranking: 8.

Players to watch

Captain Harry Kane is undoubtedly the one to keep an eye on for England, especially in crunch-time matches like this. Kane leads all players in the tournament with six goals (on just nine shots!) and has an uncanny knack for finding himself in the right place at the right time — you’d call it luck if it didn’t happen so often. Center back Harry Maguire also has been good of late. The Three Lions target him on almost every set piece, off which they’ve scored most of their goals, and he’s capable of making aggressive runs forward.

Sweden will be depending on its No. 10, Emil Forsberg, who’s particularly impressive as a facilitator but can be dangerous attacking the goal as well. The 26-year-old winger had the goal against Switzerland that sent the Swedes to the quarterfinals.

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