Sweden
vs.
England
Date: Sunday July 7th
Match Odds: England -110 / Sweden +360 / Draw +225
Over/Under: 2.5 goals
Sweden is one of the several surprise teams in the quarterfinals and their defense has been great in the Tournament only conceding one goal in Four matches.
England beat Colombia on penalties in their round of 16 match after the match ended a 1-1 draw. It looked like they had the Game won, but allowed the equalizer in extra time.
The Sweden defense will be facing an England attack led by Tottenham striker Harry Kane, who leads the Tournament with six goals. Besides netting six goals in a group win over Panama the England have only scored Four goals in their other three matches and in their last two matches they have only tickled the twine once.
In the 24 all-time matches between these teams England has eight wins, Sweden has seven, and there have been nine draws. The last time they faced off was a friendly back in 2012 with the Swedes beating the Three Lions 4-2.
The Swedes play a great team Game and their side does not have any stars. Their defensive back line frustrated Switzerland all match in the round of 16 win and they need to do the same facing Kane and fellow striker Raheem Sterling.
Emil Forsberg scored the lone goal on a deflection in the 1-0 win over Switzerland and he played well in the match. His control of the ball gave the Swedes chances and the striker duo of Ola Toivonen and Marcus Berg have to take advantage of those in this match.
The winner of this match will face the winner of the Russia vs. Croatia match in the semifinals.
The big question is which England team will show up for this match? They were less than stellar in their 2-1 win over Tunisia in their opener before throttling Panama 6-1 in their next match. They lost to Belgium and they did not put up much of a fight since they were already through and a loss gave them an easier path to the finals.
Expect Sweden to play the same type of match they did against the Swiss playing back on defense, looking for the counter-attack, and playing a precision passing match. They face a solid Swiss midfield in that match and will do again in this one.
England’s lone goal in the win over Columbia came on a penalty and they have to press the issue on the attack more in this match. Kane and company need to get more shots on target than did in the last match and their midfielders have to get in on the attack and not just control the ball in the middle of the pitch.
Last Three Matches
Sweden
6/23/18 Germany 2 Sweden 1
6/27/18 Mexico 0 Sweden 3
7/3/18 Sweden 1 Switzerland 0
England
24/06/18 England 6 Panama 1
28/06/18 England 0 Belgium 1
03/07/18 Colombia 1 -England 1 (England won on penalties 4-3)
Prediction: The squad that scores the first goal in this match will win. It will be close and there will not be many scoring chances. However, while the Swedes play a better team Game the Three Lions have more overall talent on the pitch, especially up front. England will get the first goal and that is all they will need, as their defense will play well and they will win 1-0 and advance to the semifinals.