[divider]Sweden vs. England[/divider]
7th July @ 10PM
It has been close to 25 years since Sweden booked their place in the FIFA World Cup quarter-finals. They sat deep and defended courageously whilst springing on the counter attack in their 1-0 win against Switzerland.
England played adequately against Colombia in a well balanced match which saw them have 51% of ball possession. Their only goal came via Captain Harry Kane’s penalty and after that was equalised, they were not able to finish the game within 120 minutes. It took a penalty shootout to eventually separate the both sides.
We can expect Sweden to replicate their style of play against a technically superior England side. They are most likely going to sit deep and defend, whilst trying to break on counter attacks and try their luck at set pieces. Their top scorer with two goals is currently Andreas Granqvist, a 33 year old defender. Ola Toivonen is the only striker to have registered a goal in 4 matches played. With only 2 goals conceded over 4 games, it is an achievement by itself for Sweden to have made it this far in the tournament.
England are the clear favourites heading in to this game. They have scored an impressive 9 goals in 4 matches played, 6 of which belong to their main man – Captain Harry Kane. He doesn’t always get the best delivery or chances created for him, but the front runner for the golden boot award has a knack of carving his own opportunities to goal. England are going to have to get creative to break down a resilient Swedish side.
With the likes of Dier, Lingard and Dele – they should be able to outsmart their opponents. With the pace of Sterling, strength of Rashford and finishing of Kane – the forwards would be able to convert the chances that come their way. England aren’t going to be given many inroads to the Swedish goal and they will have to be at the top of their game to score a vital goal to prevent the match from going in to extra time or penalties.
England has both an experienced and dynamic backline, barring any major errors they will be able to keep out the Swedish attackers and retain possession. Stones has contributed two goals so far in this campaign and could be used as a threat from set pieces if England decides to go direct.
It might not be an exciting match for neutrals to watch, England should be able to dominate possession and control the game. The real challenge will be getting the first goal, which if they can do so early – it will open up the game and force Sweden to attack. Another match that might go into extra time or penalties, in which case – the win is up for grabs!
[divider]Russia vs. Croatia[/divider]
8th July @ 2AM
Host nation Russia shocked the world by eliminating Spain on penalties. Their brand total defense borders on anti-football as they came in to that match with no intention of playing to win. The game plan worked though, they dug in and defended deep. The Spanish couldn’t find a way past the wall they built and paid the price as Russian won 4-3 on penalties.
Despite Schmeichel’s triple penalty save, Croatia still managed to advance past Denmark. It was an unusually testing match for Croatia who were favourites to win within 90 minutes. The Danish put in an inspired display and lost despite that, Croatia on the other hand will have to hit top gear if they hope to beat Russia within 90 minutes in their next face off.
Don’t be surprised if Russian coach Cherchesov Stanislav instructs his players to set up behind the half way line. Russia have well exceeded any expectations by reaching the quarter finals of the World Cup and barring another penalty shootout, will most likely be spectators after this match.
Boasting the likes of Kovacic, Modric, Perisic, Rakitic and Mandzukic – on paper it looks like Croatia should be able to overcome Russia. However given their recent performance against Denmark, you can never be too sure as form and focus comes in to play. Russia are going to use every tactic and trick in the book to defend and drag this match out to penalties.
Croatia will most certainly dominate possession and may have to divert from passing the ball forward and try another approach. With an experienced target man upfront, they could try a more direct approach – one which Spain failed to deploy which inevitably led to their demise. If Croatia can break the Russian defense, the game might get exciting. If they don’t, then unfortunately we are most probably in for another 120 minutes of lacklustre, anti-football leading up to a penalty shootout which could go either way.
Russia has had a good run in the competition, but it’s about time their brand of football does not continue to mar the beautiful game. With that being said, the ball is round – so may the best team win!