England national team advanced to semifinals of the 2018 World Cup after beating Sweden national team 2-0 at quarterfinal in Samara Arena on Saturday (7/7/2018).

Two England goals was scored by Harry Maguire at 30th minute and Dele Alli at 58th minute.

England deserved to win this match because of playing effectively and maximize opportunities. England scored two goals out of two chances they created. While Sweden who have four chances, always failed to score goals due to bad finishing.

Moreover, England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford performance also made it difficult for Sweden to score. Pickford made three rescues in this match.

England played aggressively in the first half, scored a goal by Harry Maguire's header, utilizing Ashley Young's pass and breaking through Robin Olsen's defense

In the second half, Sweden attacked fiercely to catch up on England. Sweden got a chance by Marcus Berg, but Berg's header was blocked by Jordan Pickford.

At 58th minute, Sweden suffered the second goal by Dele Alli. Started with a pass from Jesse Lingard, Alli easily changed the score to 2-0.

Three minutes later, Pickford blocked an attack by Viktor Claesson.

After two goals from England,  Martin Olsson and striker John Guidetti entered the pitch at 65th minute. At 71st minute, Pickford recorded his third save after thwarting a hard kick from Marcus Berg in the penalty box. Then England won the match.

After his defeat, Sweden coach Janne Andersson is quite optimistic that England is the team that will be a winner at the 2018 World Cup. He also said that his team do not make a meaningful mistake at match on Saturday, (7/7/2018).

Andersson said that England squad is full of young players who can play very well. He praised the defense of the Three Lions in the match against Sweden.

"I am sure England will be able to win the World Cup, they play very well and play with all their hearts, they are a very good team and don't give their opponents much chance. I want to congratulate the players and England coach," Andersson said, as quoted by ESPN 

"I do not think we made any significant mistakes throughout the game. We played against a very tough team and we could not match their level. We were actually able to control the game in the first 30 minutes, but their goals changed everything,"he said.

Although defeated and eliminated, Andersson admitted that he is grateful to be able to advance to the quarter-finals. He also praised the performances of his team at the 2018 World Cup.

"We managed to advance to the quarterfinal. We always play against tough opponents and today we are not able to play better than our opponents. I applaud the players and say they played very well in this tournament, "said the coach.

Source: Kompas