There is no doubt that England are heavy favourites to emerge victorious from their World Cup quarter-final on Saturday, but Sweden will relish their position as underdogs and must not be underestimated. After all, Janne Andersson’s side have overcome several daunting obstacles on their way to the last eight, dating all the way back to qualification for the tournament in Russia.
Sweden were one of the most disappointing teams at Euro 2016, exiting at the group stage after scoring only one goal in their three games (and even that was not scored by one of their own players, Ciaran Clark inadvertently putting the ball in his own net in the 1-1 draw with the Republic of Ireland).
Little was therefore expected when the Blue-Yellow were drawn in a World Cup qualifying group with France, the Netherlands, Bulgaria, Luxembourg and Belarus. Yet Sweden defied the odds by finish second and advancing to the play-offs, where they ran out 1-0 aggregate winners against four-time world champions Italy, who failed to score in 180 minutes of football against Andersson’s well-drilled backline.
Once again, few anticipated the Swedes getting out of their group at the tournament itself. World champions Germany were overwhelming favourites to finish in first place of their segment, while Mexico were widely backed to take second spot. Sweden may have narrowly lost to the holders thanks to Toni Kroos’ last-minute heroics, but victories over South Korea (1-0) and Mexico (3-0) saw them reach the round of 16 as group winners. Once there, they edged out Switzerland 1-0 to once again upset the odds and reach the quarter-finals of the World Cup for the first time in 24 years.
Player for player, England are comfortably a better team than Sweden, but football is not played on paper and the strength of Andersson’s side lies in the collective, which amounts to far more than the sum of its parts. Sweden will play a compact 4-4-2 formation and defend deep on Saturday, while looking to funnel England’s play wide and then deal with crosses into the box – something centre-back duo Andres Granqvist and Victor Lindelof have done brilliantly up to this point.
Marcus Berg is not the most prolific of centre-forwards but he does a good job of holding the ball up and winning flick-ons, while strike partner Ola Toivonen is adept at dropping off the front and linking the play. Emil Forsberg is Sweden’s best player on the left flank and will look to drift into central areas, while midfielder Albin Ekdal is capable of putting his foot on the ball when required. Sweden, though, will be happy to cede possession here, with their attacking approach centred around counter-attacks and set-pieces.
An early goal could be key for England given that Sweden would then be forced to push up the pitch and take more risks, but it is imperative that Gareth Southgate’s side remain patient if they are unable to make the breakthrough in the first half. England must continue to probe and ensure they do not allow panic to set in, even if the scores are still level as the 90-minute mark approaches. Sweden may be the second-lowest ranked nation left in the competition, but they will not be pushovers.
