Sweden have qualified for their first World Cup quarter-final since 1994 and the country’s media reacted to the news that they would face England in the last eight with confidence and anticipation. The Scandinavians believe Janne Andersson’s team have nothing to fear in Samara on Saturday.
“Bring on England,” wrote Peter Wennmann, who is covering England for Swedish paper Sportbladet. “Sometimes you just have to pinch yourself, wipe the sweat from your brow and sigh: ‘What bloody drama!’ So now we have Harry Potter against Pippi Longstocking. Now it is all about dreams and fairytales that have to be told.”
Most Swedish newspapers are hoping England will underestimate Sweden, with Expressen’s Daniel Kristoffersson saying Gareth Southgate’s young side will be hit by their “usual hubris”. He wrote: “Sweden have reached a sensational quarter-final after an enormous feat. Now England, who have their usual hubris, awaits. It is a completely different team to what we are used to - and that suits Sweden perfectly.
“England’s wing-backs can get too offensive and with their new passing game there is the risk that they are vulnerable on the counterattack. Just like Mexico against Sweden, England cannot afford to make any mistakes. Then they will be punished by Janne’s gang, who have delivered their past two games in what is almost tactical perfection. Add to that the fact that the pressure will be enormous on England. They will carry the nation’s hope on their shoulders.”
Olof Lundh of Fotbollskanalen and TV4, says he “could not understand the English arrogance before the game. Why?” He added: “Can we start to dream about a medal? Yes, a little but don’t say anything to Andersson because he doesn’t dream, he works. And that has worked well so far.”
Håkan Mild, the former Sweden international who was part of the team that finished third in 1994 and now works as a pundit for Swedish Radio P4, said that Andersson’s side has an excellent chance of reaching the semis. “England have just played a long, tough game with extra time and I also think they have hubris. They think they are going to win and they will get an unpleasant surprise on Saturday.”
The 47-year-old, who was on the receiving end of poor challenge by Paul Scholes at Wembley in 1999, added: “It couldn’t be a better draw, they think they are so good, they are not. They are spoilt children who earn a lot of money. They don’t have the desperation needed.”
