England vs Sweden LIVE World Cup 2018: England into semi-finals - final score, latest reaction and highlights

England will play for a place in the World Cup final after beating Sweden 2-0, matching their second-best ever performance at the tournament and putting them on the verge of history.

Harry Maguire and Dele Alli found the back of the net either side of half-time as England cruised to a deserved victory in Samara, setting them up with a potential semi-final against hosts Russia if they can negotiate Croatia in the final quarter-final.

It means that England have reached the last four for the first time since Italia '90, and ensures that hey will play two more games in Russia - either the third-place play-off or in the World Cup final.

Here's how the action unfolded...

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18:07

Man of the Match: Jordan Pickford because of course it was! 

 

Jordan Pickford bags man-of-the-match award with England masterclass

The IndependentEverton goalkeeper made a stunning save from striker Marcus Berg and admitted afterwards that the he believed it was his and England’s day to triumph immediately afterwards

17:46

England's Kyle Walker seems to have enjoyed that game, especially a certain header from one of his defensive partners...

17:43

Going into the match against Sweden,England had three players on yellow cards, Harry Maguire for all his heroics received one in the final stages of the second half, but where does that leave England heading into the semi-final?

 

Find out right here

Which players are suspended for England's World Cup semi-final?

The IndependentEngland beat Sweden 2-0 on Saturday afternoon and will now play either Russia or Croatia for a place in the World Cup final. But which players will miss the clash?

17:37

I think Jonathan Liew  has summed it up the best: After heart-breakers and nail-biters England's win over Sweden was pure fun

 

Here's his report from Samara

 

After heart-breakers and nail-biters England finally manage a fun win

The IndependentAfter the tension of Colombia and the weirdness of Belgium, finally a victory to just enjoy

17:30

Did you miss the match action? Surely not!

 

Give this report from Ed Malyon​ a read as he takes you through all the highs from Samara

 

England's set-piece heaven sees Southgate's side short-circuit Sweden

The IndependentEngland are scoring so many goals off the training ground that even days of homework can't stop the set-piece deluge

17:22

Lawrence Ostlere  takes you through the challenge that faced Sweden as they came up against a very confident England side, who'd have thought this 5-weeks ago?

 

Sweden’s run comes to its natural end against England’s undefendable traits

The IndependentStrangely for a team still searching for a new identity after one enormous ego left the room, this felt like a natural end point for Sweden, both in the tournament and in the cycle of their squad

17:17

How well did England play against Sweden?

 

​Lets have a look at the player ratings from Samara

 

World Cup 2018 player ratings: England vs Sweden

The IndependentEngland 2-0 Sweden: Man-for-man marking from the World Cup quarter-final

17:15

Jordan Pickford, one of England's heroes today spoke after the match saying:

 

"It's a great result. We knew it was going to be difficult against Sweden, we know what they bring to the party and we managed it very well. We showed our abilities coming out and our mental side of the game.

 

"After I made that first save against Berg, I felt that was me settled into the game. England fans are a different class and we really enjoyed playing when the fans are like that."

 

17:10

What did we learn from England's ​win, I here you say

Well here are five things Luke Brown noticed during the match 

FIVE things we learned from England 2-0 Sweden

The IndependentFive things we learned as England beat Sweden 2-0 to set up a World Cup semi-final against either host nation Russia or Croatia

 

17:04

Here's Jack Watson​ with a breakdown of Harry Maguire's importance to England's ​semi-final

 

Why Harry Maguire will have a huge say in any England semi-final success

The IndependentHarry Maguire headed England into the lead and dominated from the back

17:03

The Harrys, Maguire and Kane spoke to Gabby Logan after the game, here's a snapshot of what they had to say:

 

"We know what would hurt them today, we knew set plays were a big thing and obviously the little box cross that Jesse put into Dele, we worked on that in training so credit to the staff and the players who executed it.

 

"We know there's still a big game ahead, but we're feeling good, we're feeling confident, today was great, we just have to go again and make the country proud."

 

 

16:58

Gareth Southgate, goes over to the England fans who have travelled to Samara and he's giving his trademark double fist pumps, yelling c'mon at the top of his voice

16:52

FULL TIME: SWEDEN 0 - 2 ENGLAND

 

They've done it! England are through to the semi-finals of the World Cup for only the third time and the first time since 1990.

 

It's coming home!

16:50

90+3 mins: England are strong in defence, and the England fans are full of voice, Kane wins a free kick for England, could they get a third?

16:47

90 mins: Augustinsson takes the shot but he gets right underneath the ball and it sails over the bar, Sterling is off now and Marcus Rashford comes on for the 5 minutes added on

16:46

89 mins: ​Harry Maguire gives away a free kick on the edge of England's box, he brought down Granqvist and this could cause trouble for England

16:45

87 mins: Maguire gets a yellow card from referee Björn Kuipers, but England come at Sweden again and a mix-up from Sterling and Delph lets the ball go out of play for a goal kick 

16:43

86 mins: Lingard wins a free kick on the right wing, Trippier takes it and whips it into the box but it's scrambled to safety by Sweden

16:41

84 mins: Trippier takes the free kick and it sails over everyone for a goal kick. Henderson is coming off and Eric Dier is on for the last 10 minutes or so

16:39

82 mins: Lingard has another shot blocked, the ball comes all the way back to Pickford who finds Trippier with a long ball, he heads it to Kane, gets the ball back and is fouled. Free kick to England

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When is it?

England vs Sweden is on Saturday 7 July and kicks off at 15:00 at the Samara Arena.

Where can I watch it?

BBC will be showing live coverage on BBC One and online on the BBC Sport website.

How did they get here?

Sweden surprisingly topped their group ahead of Mexico and Germany after it looked like Toni Kroos’ late winning goal in their 2-1 defeat against the Germans would spell their exit. Their round of 16 tie against Switzerland was typical of their tournament to date, they defended well as a team, grabbed their goal and defended some more.

Southgate rested eight players against Belgium as England finished second in Group G which granted them an arguably easier path through the knockout rounds. The dramatic win against Colombia picks up the momentum that was created by wins Tunisia and Panama in the group stage.

What is their World Cup history?

While never winning it, Sweden have historically done well at World Cups, and the closest they came to glory was in 1958 when they lost to Pele’s Brazil in the final. Recent history has not been too kind to Sweden who had not qualified for a World Cup since 2006.

Winners in 1966, it’s been over 60 years of hurt for the Three Lions who may have their best chance to win a World Cup since Geoff Hurst scored a hat-trick in the final against Germany. England’s dramatic win against Colombia was the first time they have won a knockout match since beating Ecuador in 2006. Victory against Sweden will put England into the last four for the first time since 1990 and will the only the third time they have advanced to the semi-final.

Odds

England: 10/11

Sweden: 7/2

Draw (90 minutes): 9/4

Head-to-head

England have faced Sweden 25 times down the years only coming out on the winning side on eight occasions. The last time they squared off was back in 2012 when a certain Zlatan Ibrahimovic proved the hero for the hosts in Stockholm.

England survived a scare to reach this far (FIFA via Getty Images)

Prediction

England 2-1 Sweden: The Three Lions have shown admirable grit to make it this far and they'll need it again against a nuggety and stubborn Swedish side. They should have enough quality however, with that man Harry Kane the difference again.