World Cup preview: Sweden v England, Russia v Croatia

Saturday brings World Cup action from the so-called ‘easy side of the draw’ with Gareth Southgate’s England side looking to reach the competition’s semi-final stage for the first time in 28 years.

• 1500 BST Sweden v England (BBC)
• 1900 BST Russia v Croatia (ITV)

England come into Saturday’s game after a history-making and confidence-boosting first World Cup penalty shootout victory, but could be more likely to suffer fatigue after playing 120 minutes of exhausting football against Colombia. Back-up striker Jamie Vardy will likely miss the match against Sweden due to a groin strain suffered in the last game.

Vardy’s services may not be needed though as Harry Kane’s exceptional form continues, having now scored in six consecutive matches for his country and leading the race to the golden boot by two goals.

England are undoubtedly the favourites in this match but have a poor history against Sweden, winning once and drawing five times in a total of eight competitive meetings.

Nor are the Swedes to be underestimated, despite fielding a team that lacks star players. After the international retirement of Legendary striker Zlatan Ibrahimović, coach Janne Andersson has forged a strong and organised side who play a strict 4-4-2 formation and made it through qualifying at the expense of footballing powerhouses Italy and Netherlands, and of course finished at the top of a group containing defending champions Germany.

Without Ibrahimović the side do struggle for goals and lack a distinguished finisher at the top of the pitch where they rely on the likes of Al Ain’s Marcus Berg and Toulouse’s Ola Toivonen. Indeed, the side’s greatest attacking threat may be defender and captain Andreas Granqvist, who has scored two penalties and missed the birth of his second child to remain at the tournament for the match against Switzerland.

The late kick-off, will see hosts Russia face dark horses Croatia in the last of the quarter-finals to be played.

Pre-tournament underdogs Russia have been the surprise package of the competition, far exceeding the wildest dreams of the nation’s fans. They are not easy on the eye however, mustering just one shot on target (a penalty) from 21% of possession in 120 minutes against Spain.

The Russians seemed to be playing for penalties from the 45-minute mark and those tactics are unlikely to change against Croatia, who are a far more skilled footballing side.

The Balkan nation were superbly impressive during their group stage matches but produced a faltering and unconvincing performance against Denmark in the round of 16 and were lucky to scrape through on penalties. This could be merely a blip or a continuation of Croatia’s habit of running out of steam as competitions drag on.

Either way, with the likes of Barcelona’s Ivan Rakitić, Real Madrid duo Luka Modrić and Mateo Kovačić, and Juventus striker Mario Mandžukić, Croatia should be able to dismantle Russia’s heroic defence.

But then again, we said that about Spain.