Former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson has warned Gareth Southgate s side of the extremely difficult task they face to break down Sweden s defence in Saturday s World Cup quarter-final.
The Three Lions are on a high after Tuesday s penalty shoot-out victory over Colombia following a 1-1 draw, which booked them a trip to Samara to face a Sweden side Eriksson rates highly for their defensive resilience and team ethic.
Janne Andersson s men have won three of their four World Cup matches so far, scoring six goals and keeping a trio of clean sheets as they topped Group F and beat Switzerland 1-0 in the last 16.
Eriksson, who managed England to 40 victories and only 10 defeats between 2001 and 2006, said his home nation would prove a stern test for his former employers.
It was great to see England winning on penalties, they were mentally very strong, the 70-year-old told Sky Sports News.
If England think they will have an easy match on Saturday, that s a big mistake. I think it could be very difficult.
It s difficult for Sweden as well, but to score against them is extremely difficult.
[England] have the players individually to do something special [Harry] Kane is one, [Raheem] Sterling is another. But when I tell you it s difficult to beat Sweden, it s the truth. Italy tried in the qualifiers for 180 mins and they didn t score. Germany only scored a free kick at the end.
I m looking forward to it It s very much 50/50.
Sorry we put you through that – but what a way to do it.
— England (@England)
Eriksson, who said he feels a little bit English , thinks Sweden are thriving despite Zlatan Ibrahimovic s international retirement in 2016.
Ibrahimovic is Sweden s all-time leading goalscorer having struck 62 times in 116 appearances, but Eriksson highlighted Andersson s team has collective rather than individual strength.
If one is suspended, they put in another one and you can t see the difference, said Eriksson.
Sweden doesn t have a Kane or Sterling or Neymar. It s a collective. They do things together and work extremely hard.
I said some weeks ago that England can go very far. Young players, hungry players. They did very well, were the better team, and deserve to be where they are.
