HOODOO YOU THINK WE ARE
GARETH SOUTHGATE has challenged his players to banish another of England’s footballing curses and edge closer to World Cup glory.
The Three Lions face bogey team Sweden in Saturday’s quarter final, having beaten them just twice in 15 meetings.
Boss Southgate believes after ending the 12-year wait to win a knockout match in a tournament and halting the losing run in penalty shoot-outs they will have the confidence to win.
He said: “Our historic record against them is another one we have to put right. We have always viewed them at our level and I don’t think that’s right as their tournament record is better than ours.
“Sweden are often underestimated and I have real respect for Sweden. They’re always more than the sum of their parts. Playing against them is difficult. It’s a great, completely different test to the one against Colombia.”
Southgate admitted England’s progress has taken him by surprise.
But he praised their down-to-earth mentality which ensures they do not to get carried away.
He said: “They’re still a young group of players, especially the defenders. It was significant because we can’t just be a team that goes out and plays.
“You have to be savvy and tactically aware and ready to manage games.” ENGLAND’S penalty shootout hero Eric Dier revealed he had no idea he was going to be one of the takers.
The Spurs star scored from the spot to give the Three Lions their first World Cup shootout win and set up a quarter-final tie with Sweden on Saturday.
But Dier, who came on as an 81st-minute sub, said he was unaware he was down to take a spot-kick in the event of a sudden-death shootout.
Asked if he knew he was down to take one before the game Dier said: “No, I had no idea. We were hoping it didn’t go to penalties!
“I didn’t know the order until the manager came. The manager didn’t tell us the order before the game. With subs, the order can change, so after extra time he just told me I was No.5.
“It’s a strange one. You don’t do it very often so it’s a bit weird but it was okay.
“Walking up to take the penalty, I don’t really know what I was thinking about.
“While you’re waiting to take it it’s nerve-wracking but once I walked up when I was going to take it I was quite calm.
“I was nervous while standing waiting but once I walked up there I was alright. I knew where I was going to put it.”
Dier described the mood in the jubilant England dressing room after the win as “surreal” but admitted the players have quickly realised they must switch their focus to the next challenge against Sweden.
He said: “The feeling of winning on penalties is kind of surreal. It takes over you. It’s fantastic.
“I wasn’t actually there when everyone got back in. I missed it because I was doing interviews.
“It might be difficult but that’s the most important thing – to take one game at a time, to really focus now on the Sweden game, like we did for Colombia.
“That’s the key in football. I’ve said it loads of times but in football you never know what’s going to happen and this was the perfect example of that.
“You have to be prepared for everything and you’ve just got to enjoy every moment and be in that moment.
“If you think too far ahead you lose your focus on the present and the present is the most important thing.”
Meanwhile, Raheem Sterling says England are determined to do their whole nation proud.
The Manchester City star can sense the growing belief from back home and insists the squad are ready to seize their moment at this World Cup.
Sterling helped England end their 12-year wait to win a knockout game in a major tournament and finally see off their penalties hoodoo by beating battling Colombia.
It’s now opening up for England, with just the Swedes and the winner of Russia and Croatia standing in their way of reaching the Final for the first time since 1966.
Sterling said: “Now we have a great chance to go again and do the country proud.
“It’s hard not to get carried away but we haven’t won anything yet.
“We’re in the quarter-finals of a World Cup and we’ve won on penalties, which is something that we haven’t managed to do in the past.
“It’s about having that belief but we’re not getting away. We know we’ve still got a long way to go and we’ll turn over quickly to be ready for the next game.
“From moment one we had the belief to keep things simple, take it step by step and now we have a great chance on Saturday. We just need to recover and go again.
“In football it can get boring saying this but we have to take it step by step and it’s about having that belief.
“We’re a great group. We’ll recover and then get on to the game this weekend.”
Sterling had volunteered to take a penalty if it went to a shoot-out but he was substituted late on so had to watch the drama unfold against Colombia.
But he insists that, despite millions of England fans hiding behind their sofas at home, Gareth Southgate has given this team a mental strength the 23-year-old attacker insisted can carry them all the way.
He said: “That’s what the gaffer’s instilled in us, and some of the stuff we’ve been doing on
Everyone’s buzzing. From the moment we met up we all had