World Cup 2018 - Game 59 - England beats overmatched Sweden 2-0, advances to semi-final

I've said this before, but Sweden had no business being here. If Germany had remembered how to be Germany in any of the three games, this would probably be a different match up. England have been flying high (except against Belgium) and have caught the attention of a few people. It's a young-ish team that looked like it was built for the next Euro or World Cup, but they look ready now.

It was pretty much all England in the first half. Harry Maguire got things started at 30' with a header off a corner into the Swedish net. 1-0 England. Raheem Sterling should have made it 2-0 at 45'. He got free, caught up to a long pass, and went one-on-one with the keeper, but Robin Olsen was able to get a finger on it to disrupt the chance. Sweden's first real chance came at 47', but England goalkeeper, Jordan Pickford was able to push aside a header by Marcus Berg. At 59', Jesse Lingard crossed a nice, high ball right onto the head of Dele Alli who buried it in the back of the net. Game over! Hats off to Sweden, they had some chances down the stretch, but Pickford was up to the task each time.

England move on to face the Russia v Croatia winner. This England team is firing on all cylinders and have the speed, firepower, and momentum to go all the way. Whatever happens, they've gone farther than a lot of people would have predicted. Gareth Southgate has to be commended on his coaching. This team has been ready to play every game. The 4-5-2 really ate up the midfield and didn't give Sweden much of a chance to get things going.