Is football coming home? Chances are that it is, as England reaches the quarter-final after defeating Colombia in a shootout. The only thing that stands between the Three Lions and a semi final in the World Cup now is Sweden. The swedes reached the quarter´s by defeating Swizerland with 1-0 in the previous match. Sweden are definetly the underdogs in this year’s World Cup playoffs, but they have proven hard to beat.
After the penalty shootout win for the first time ever in a World Cup, England is over the moon. A lot of people are already saying that football is finally coming home – and they’re only three matches away from being right about it.
Sweden has made their way to the quarter-final by winning group F, which included Germany, Mexico and South Korea. A tough group to say the least, so winning the group was an impressive effort. By now they’re probably used to being called underdogs, but they have proven everybody wrong over and over again. Since the 2016 Euro, when Sweden were eliminated in the group stage, the team has beaten Portugal, France and Italy on their way to the 2018 World Cup. Topping that with winning a group where Germany were clear favorites – it’s time to face Sweden with some respect.
Two young and hungry teams
Both of the teams that will face each other in the quarter-final on Saturday are very young, without all the old superstars such as Gerard, Rooney or Zlatan. It’s not the teams that we have grown familiar of, but clearly these young squads are doing something right. England has a new star striker in Harry Kane, who has produced six(!) goals this far in the tournament. He’s been an essential player in England’s success, and will most likely play a big part in the quarter-final as well.
Sweden, on the other hand, still hasn’t found a great striker in the team. Andreas Granqvist has scored two penalty goals, but other then that no player has really stood out. But one thing that Sweden does have is team spirit, and that is what has gotten them this far. Even though the team doesn’t have any real superstars, they fight for each other all the way – and that has proven to be very hard to beat. That raises the question for Saturday’s match – has Gareth Southgate figured out a way for England to dribble through iron will?
Prediction and bet tips – Sweden vs England
We strongly believe that this will be a tough one. Sweden is obviously a very hard team to beat, and England will probably struggle to make their way through Sweden’s defence. Sweden has on the other hand had a hard time with actually netting their chances. Our prediction is that the match will end at a draw in full time, which we play at Betway to the odds of 9/4.
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Skriven den 6 July, 2018