Dare we whisper it, but could England actually win the World Cup? We’ve compared their stats with the seven other quarter-finalists to see how they fare so far…
England ended their World Cup shootout hoodoo on Tuesday and dumped Colombia out of the tournament to book a date with Sweden on Saturday afternoon..
Should Gareth Southgate’s side progress beyond the quarter-finals, they would face either Russia or Croatia in the semi-finals on July 11 – but how do they compare with their rivals?
Attack
England have scored nine goals at the tournament so far – although two-thirds of those came during the 6-1 demolition of Panama.
Fellow Group G rivals Belgium are the most prolific side to remain in the competition with 12 goals, but Roberto Martinez’s side smashed five of those past Tunisia.
Southgate’s men will be buoyed by Sweden’s lacklustre record in front of goal ahead of their clash this weekend, with the Swedes hitting just six goals during their four games – half of those came during the 3-0 win over Mexico.
England captain Harry Kane tops the goalscoring chart with six goals – ahead of fellow Golden Boot rivals Romelu Lukaku (four goals), Artem Dzuba, Denis Cheryshev, Kylian Mbappe and Edison Cavani (three each).
Meanwhile, centre-back Andreas Granqvist has been the most prolific player in Sweden’s ranks with two goals, ahead of Emil Forsberg, Ludwig Augustinsson and Ola Toivonen (one each).
England rank mid-table for shots attempted with 56, of which 19 have been on target. Those numbers are strikingly similar to Sweden’s tally, but Kane’s six goals from six shots on target have produced a far healthier return.
Brazil have been the most attacking side to remain in Russia, hitting 77 shots at goal and 31 on target, while hosts Russia have been the least ambitious with 49 attempts.
England have scored half of their 14 big chances, while Belgium have also scored seven of their gaping opportunities but missed a tournament-topping 11.
Another bonus for England ahead of their quarter-final tie will be Sweden’s lack of conviction when they bear down on goal, having mustered 10 gaping chances but converted only three.
At the other end of the scale, Russia have had just six big chances throughout the tournament – but have found the back of the net on each occasion.
General play
With the tiki-taka specialists eliminated, Brazil replace Spain atop the passing chart – attempting 2,263 to date.
Perhaps surprisingly, England are just 90 passes shy of the Samba stars and sub-tiki-taka status, while Sweden have attempted almost half as many passes with just 1,184.
England will almost certainly look to maintain this ratio on Saturday, as they look to dominate possession across an advancing defensive line.
England and Sweden are the least likely sides to fire crosses into the box, having attempted 30 and 29, respectively – a stark contrast to Croatia’s 48 crosses and Brazil’s 47 attempts.
Kieran Trippier has achieved considerable success down the right flank and is by far England’s most prolific crosser in search of Kane’s aerial prowess, firing nine during his four appearances.
England, Belgium and Croatia are equally likely to run with the ball, with Southgate’s side attempting 72 dribbles in Russia.
Tournament-favourites Brazil top yet another chart with 113, with Neymar also topping the player chart with 35 dribbles among an audacious collection of flicks and tricks.
Defence
Russia’s incredible run has been largely due to physical exertion and endurance, topping the running stats and winning more duels than any other nation.
Once again, England rank mid-table for winning 50/50 challenges but are considerably more prolific than their quarter-final opponents, winning 255 compared with 207.
Jordan Pickford came within a minute of keeping his first clean sheet in Russia on Tuesday – conceding one goal for the fourth successive game,
That total is equal with France and Belgium and only Russia have shipped more with five – but Sweden’s defensive resolve has limited opponents to just two goals – only Brazil and Uruguay have conceded fewer (one each).
However, Sweden stopper Robin Olsen has been instrumental in keeping the deficit to a minimum, saving 11 of the 13 shots on target he has faced.
Uruguay’s Fernando Muslera and Croatia’s Danijel Subasic have equally impressive ratios between the sticks, while Jordan Pickford and Allisson have among the worst ratios.
England’s attack has eclipsed the tournament’s favourites and galvanised with a hoodoo-breaking shootout win and are clear favourites to progress past Sweden on Saturday.
Southgate’s men have outscored their opponents – albeit skewed with a goal rout against Panama – and are capable of out-passing and out-muscling Sweden in the challenge.
However, England must find a way past the impressive Olsen in goal and improve their poor ratio of shots off target and big chances missed, although Sweden have been equally wasteful.
At the other end, Pickford’s save ratio gives reason for concern – but the Everton stopper should gain confidence from his dramatic shootout save that allowed Eric Dier to seal qualification and send England into delirium.
Comment below to get involved in the debate, but please adhere to our House Rules. If you wish to report any comment, simply click on the down arrow next to the offending comment and click ‘Report’.
Also See:
Sourse: skysports.com
