Dele Alli scored his first goal for England outside of Wembley Stadium to put the Three Lions up 2-0. (Max Rossi/Reuters)
Sweden vs. England
Quarterfinal, Samara Arena, Samara
Full time: England 2, Sweden 0
England has done it. The Three Lions are through to their first World Cup semifinal since 1990 on the back of a first-half goal from Harry Maguire — his first international goal and England’s eighth goal this tournament that came off a set play — and a second-half goal from Dele Alli, who scored his first goal for his national team away from Wembley Stadium. England was dominant almost the entire game from the forwards all the way back to goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.
The Three Lions will play either Russia or Croatia in Moscow on Wednesday.
Alli comes out
Alli’s day is done in the 75th minute, though he tries to waste time by dawdling and turning his back to the technical area when Fabian Delph comes to take him off. Cheeky.
Almost, Sweden
Viktor Claesson makes a beautiful run into the box but Pickford dives right and gets a hand on the ball for another great save.
Goal, England!
A wide-open Dele Alli sends in a brilliant header to put England up 2-0 off Jesse Lingard’s assist.
Early save from Pickford
English keeper Jordan Pickford dives low and left to bat away a header from Marcus Berg that was hurtling down toward Pickford’s near post.
***
First-half updates
Halftime: England 1, Sweden 0
Maguire’s goal was the difference-maker for England, which is playing aggressively against Sweden’s usually stout defense. Sweden hardly has had any chances on the other end of the field, and all of the right guys for England — Kane, Sterling, Maguire, Trippier — have been active.
Fans back home in England reacted to the early lead with a bit of enthusiasm.
Openings for Sterling
Sterling has two chances close together just before halftime, the first of which saw him slip between two defenders and go one-on-one with Sweden’s goalkeeper but having his shot blocked from 10 yards out (he’s later flagged as offsides). He has another chance moments later that instead sets up a corner kick that England doesn’t convert.
“September” in July
If you’re hearing the happy England fans singing the chorus to Earth, Wind and Fire’s popular jam “September,” you’re not alone. Reportedly, England fans have changed the earworm of a chorus to “Whoahoh, England are in Russia / Whoaoh, drinking all your vodka / Whoaoh, England’s going all the way.”
England goal!
It seemed inevitable — Harry Maguire has been so good for England this World Cup, particularly off set pieces, and he gets his first goal in international play off of a corner kick. It’s the Three Lions’ eighth goal off a set play so far.
Harry Kane’s first attempt
The England captain gets his first good look in the 19th minute after Raheem Sterling streaks down the right side and gets to the penalty box before leaving Kane with the ball. Kane’s low effort goes wide, but it was a good moment for the Three Lions. Sweden’s defense is hard to crack — they’ve only conceded two goals in four matches, both of which were against Germany.
Stars make a wager
Empty seats?
The atmosphere at Samara Arena might be quieter than expected tonight.
Starting lineups
England manager Gareth Southgate is sticking with the same lineup he used against Colombia, while Sweden has a few changes. Back in is Sebastian Larsson, who missed the match against Switzerland because of yellow card accumulation, and Emil Krafth is taking over for Mikael Lustig, who’s suspended.
Opening thoughts
The first quarterfinal from the, er, less traditional side of the bracket features teams that might be considered overachievers at this World Cup. No one expected much of Sweden, despite it having defeating world powers such as Portugal, France and Italy in international play over the past two years, perhaps due in part to the Swedes’ lack of star power. No one expected much of England because, despite a energetic and talented roster full of stars, its fan base has been conditioned well.
Both teams’ disregard for expectations should make for an interesting, if unpredictable, matchup. England arrives at its first quarterfinal since 2006 riding a fresh wave of hope after defeating Colombia in the round of 16 on penalties, which means it has now won two of its past eight shootouts. The 4-3 margin proved to fans of the Three Lions that this year might be different from past disappointments. On paper, they’ve got the talent to overpower Sweden.
But England Manager Gareth Southgate is rightly wary of the Swedes, who haven’t allowed a goal in five of their past six matches. Sweden is well organized and disciplined on defense, and it clearly doesn’t wilt in the presence of more traditional soccer powers — it got to the knockout round after finishing atop a group that was supposed to belong to Germany. Sweden also has a strong record against England on its side: It has won 13 of the teams’ past 15 meetings.
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When: Saturday, 10 a.m. Eastern.
How to watch on TV: Fox.
How to stream online: Fox Sports, the Fox Soccer Match Pass apps and FoxSportsGo.com.
How to watch in Spanish: Telemundo.
How to watch in Canada: Bell Media’s TSN and CTV networks, the TSN GO app and TSN.ca/live.
What’s next: The winner will face the Russia-Croatia winner in the semifinals Wednesday in Moscow.
[Complete World Cup quarterfinal and semifinal bracket]
Team Profiles
Sweden
- Previous results: Defeated South Korea, 1-0. Lost to Germany, 2-1. Defeated Mexico, 3-0. Defeated Switzerland in the round of 16, 1-0.
- Best World Cup finish: Second place, 1958.
- Notable: Each of Sweden’s World Cup matches with England have come in the group stage. Both, in 2002 and 2006, resulted in draws.
- FIFA world ranking: 24. Elo world ranking: 12.
England
- Previous results: Defeated Tunisia, 2-1. Defeated Panama, 6-1. Lost to Belgium, 1-0. Defeated Colombia in the round of 16, 4-3 in a penalty shootout after drawing, 1-1.
- Best World Cup finish: Champion, 1966.
- Notable: England hasn’t reached the World Cup semifinals since 1990.
- FIFA world ranking: 12. Elo world ranking: 8.
Players to watch
Captain Harry Kane is undoubtedly the one to keep an eye on for England, especially in crunchtime matches like this. Kane leads all players in the tournament with six goals (on just nine shots!) and has an uncanny knack for finding himself in the right place at the right time — you’d call it luck if it didn’t happen so often. Center back Harry Maguire also has been good of late. The Three Lions target him on almost every set piece, off which they’ve scored most of their goals, and he’s capable of making aggressive runs forward.
Sweden will be depending on its No. 10, Emil Forsberg, who’s particularly impressive as a facilitator but can be dangerous attacking the goal as well. The 26-year-old winger had the goal against Switzerland that sent the Swedes to the quarterfinals.
Read more about the World Cup:
England knows how to adjust its World Cup expectations. But winning wasn’t part of the plan.
France takes total control in beating Uruguay — and hints at more to come in World Cup
Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic give Croatia a chance to reach the World Cup final
The real World Cup losers: The Russian people
The Wimbledon men’s final and the World Cup final are on a collision course
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