GARETH: END MORE JINXES

FROM BACK PAGE run in penalty shoot-outs by beating Colombia, the players will go into the game confident they can win.

He said: “Our historic record against them is another one we have to put right. We’ve always viewed them at our level and I don’t think that’s right because their tournament record is better than ours.

“Sweden are often underestimated and I have real respect for Sweden. They are always more than the sum of their parts.

“Playing against them is really difficult. It’s a great and completely different test to the one we faced against Colombia.”

Southgate admits the team’s progress has taken him by surprise, and praised his men for not getting carried away.

The FA was targeting Euro 2020, believing the team would have a good chance of success in that tournament, but the next World Cup was viewed as a more realistic proposition given the successful youth teams would come to fruition by then.

Southgate added: “They are still a young group of players, especially the back players. So it was really significant because we can’t just be a team that goes out and plays.

“You have to be savvy enough, tactically aware and ready to manage games. We are based on working hard for each other, we don’t carry anyone. They are prepared to graft and dig in.”