England look to lift the Swedish barricade
Manager Southgate urges young guns to cash in as Three Lions face defensive Scandinavians in quarters, chase first semifinal berth since 1990
MOSCOW: Manager Gareth Southgate says England ‘might not have this opportunity again’ as he plots a way past Sweden in the quarter-finals to a first World Cup semi-final appearance in three decades.
Southgate told the BBC on Thursday his team of youngsters led by Golden Boot contender Harry Kane “must make the most” of the way the cards have fallen for them in Russia.
“It’s a great opportunity, and although our team will be individually better in two years, we might not have this opportunity again,” said Southgate.
England’s penalty shootout win over Colombia in the last 16 means only Sweden stand between them and reaching the semi-finals for the first time since 1990.
But despite all the euphoria generated back in England by his team’s progress, Southgate cautioned against getting too far ahead of themselves.
“You have to enjoy the good moments, but I am a long way from perfect, there are plenty of mistakes we have made while we have been here and we will make moving forward, so I think it is dangerous territory if we get carried away with things,” said Southgate.
Sweden have proved a notoriously tough rival for England in the past, with Southgate pointing out: “They are older, more experienced, and have a better tournament record than us.”
England face Sweden in Samara on Saturday, with the winner of that going on to play either Croatia or 2018 hosts Russia in the last four. sportm@hindustantimes.com
INJURED VARDY SKIPS TRAINING
Jamie Vardy has missed most of England’s training session on Friday and appears unlikely to be fit for Saturday’s quarter-final. The Leicester striker suffered a groin injury after coming on as a substitute in the 88th minute of England’s penalty shootout victory over Colombia in the round of 16 on Tuesday.
He warmed up with the squad early on Friday at its base outside St Petersburg, but did not take part in the rest of the session. With captain Harry Kane, the World Cup’s top scorer with six goals, leading England’s forwardline, Vardy has started only one match in Russia, against Belgium when coach Gareth Southgate made sweeping changes to his line-up, including resting Kane.
‘EASY TO ANALYSE BUT TOUGH TO BEAT’
Sweden coach Janne Andersson said his side were ‘easy to analyse but very difficult to beat’.
Sweden are attempting to reach a first semi-final since 1994, when they were beaten 1-0 in the last four by eventual champions Brazil.
Devoid of a freescoring talisman in the wake of Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s retirement, Sweden have worked hard on being difficult to breakdown.
“I think there was a coach who once said about their team that they’re quite easy to analyse but quite difficult to beat. I think that’s a right description for us,” Andersson said.
“It shouldn’t be that difficult to get an idea of what we do. The surprise is probably that we’re terribly consistent,” he added. “Whether or not you take us seriously and how they perceive it, that’s very difficult for me to say. We’re really strong in our beliefs and we really have been from the outset.”