WORLD CUP 2018 Quarter Finals Review: England vs Sweden [2-0] - ENGLAND THROUGH TO SEMIS!!

So the unbelievable happened and football is finally coming home. Well - almost, but it has packed a suitcase, gone to the airport and bought a giant toblerone to give to it's mum, who will ask where he's been for the last 50yrs. See below for the stats from the game (courtesy of BBC Sport)

On a hot Wednesday afternoon in Samara, the three lions blew Sweden out of the water, continuing the trend of dominating set pieces and winning 2-0. Sweden were lucky to come away from it that lightly. In a performance most England fans were hopeful for, England never looked particularly troubled. Despite being over here in the 'easy' bracket the English football lineage is littered with frustrating draws and 1-0 losses to teams ranked below us. Huge props to the nicest man in football - (soon to be Sir) Gareth Southgate - for instilling a respect for our opponents in the players. As the players lined up in the tunnel they looked collected, calm and focused. This was not the time for complacency.

STAND-OUT PLAYERS:

JORDAN PICKFORD:

Joe Hart against Iceland, Rob Green against the USA, David Seaman against Brazil. These incidents and more have plagued English football for decades, cutting us down in our prime and sending us crashing out of tournaments so fast fans around the country wince at the thought of when it will strike next. Jordan Pickford is England's hero.

Fresh of the back of a stunning penalty save against Colombia on Tuesday, the young goalkeeper was calm from the off, but fiery in defence of his goal. Even though Sweden weren't exactly knocking at the door, he made some big saves. A particularly strong hand in the 47th minute as Berg towered above Ashley Young, firing a header towards Pickford's left was a crucial save that would have brought Sweden back into the game only 2mins after the half had restarted. Several more big saves in the second half earned Jordan the MotM award for this game. Deserved.

HARRY MAGUIRE:

The man with the biggest head in football has done it again. Finding the back of the net in the 30th minute, Maguire scored his first ever international goal for England, and what a goal it was. The mighty Ashley Young whips in a corner, Maguire loses his man and seems to float in the air momentarily as he absolutely smashes it into the bottom left using his forehead. Against Colombia we saw him winning almost every aerial duel and tonight was no different. Toivonen and Berg could not find a way around or over him, Maguire making up for his lack of pace with perfect positioning. No one could have predicted the combination of Maguire and Stones would be taking England through to the semi final but it's fair to say England would be lost without this man. My personal pick for MotM.

ASHLEY YOUNG:
The 33yr old winger turned left-back was outstanding on Saturday, firing in crosses from both feet and causing massive problems for the Swedish defence. Having looked tired against Colombia, Ashley looked a rejuvenated man on Saturday, charging up and down the pitch showing no signs of slowing down with age. His delivery from corners was superb and Sweden struggled to handle him all night. A brilliant defensive performance showing why he's keeping Luke Shaw out of a job back in Manchester.

RAHEEM STERLING:

The 6ft 3 unit that is Granqvist had a particularly tough time with Sterling's pace, and we saw him break away 1 on 1 twice in the first half. Whilst Sterling has not scored for England in over 2yrs, his contribution is undeniable. Once he gets going you cannot catch this guy, and the Swedish defenders were pulled all over the park trying to keep on him. Linking up well with Harry Kane, Raheem was crucial in unlocking the brick wall defence that had dragged Sweden through the group stages. It can't be underestimated how big a part Sterling has played this tournament, and you can't help but think if he could keep his composure in-front of goal like he does for Man City, England truly would be a force to be reckoned with.

CROATIA - A FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH

Modric, Rakitic, Mandzucik, Perisic. These are big names in a big team. Croatia have struggled to replicate their early form in this tournament, needing late goals and penalties to get them to this semi-final stage. They are a team filled with talent who (unlike Belgium, aka the premier league all-stars fc) are struggling to click and play fluid football. Any of Croatia's star men could curl a beauty into the top corner on Wednesday and it wouldn't be suprising. The managerial challenge for Southgate here is how to manage this situation.

England's 3-5-2 formation has served them well so far, but with Henderson isolated at the bottom of that pivot, he may find Real Madrid and Barcelona's finest blitzing past him - a situation which could quickly spell disaster for English dream's.

So where do the three lions go from here? Well firstly - after losing his instagram bet with David Beckham, Zlatan will have to swallow his pride and don an England shirt next time he's at Wembley, fulfilling dreams of fan's everywhere that he had a secret English grandmother and could have been banging them in for England for the last 10yrs.

Those who watched the Croatia vs Russia game would have seen one of the most entertaining games of the tournament. Russia were fiesty, eventually crashing out on penalties. Depending on which Croatia team turn up on Wednesday, England could be in real trouble, and is a huge test for the young lions.

That being said we're 90mins away from being in a world cup final, and that certainly is something special. Whatever happens, English fans will be proud of the boys for breaking the penalty curse, and for going further than most of us have experienced in our entire lives.

Get through this and the monstrous France lie in wait...or perhaps we will see England vs Belgium Round 2: Rashford's Revenge. Either way - Croatia are out to spoil the party, and they don't plan on making it easy.

*Thank you for reading! This is is my official introduction to Steemit so I would like to say a big hello to everyone who comes across this post! Throughout my life football is a passion I've shared with people around the world and is a fantastic way to cross-boarders and make new friends, so if you have enjoyed this post please upvote and introduce yourself in the comments. With the premier league starting in just 5wks time I will be reviewing the biggest games every week, and would love for you to all join me on this adventure. I'll see you all next week