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Gary Neville says it won't be pretty against Sweden but England should be confident of victory
Gary Neville has warned that England’s World Cup quarter-final clash against Sweden will not be “a pretty affair” – but he still believes they can be confident of victory.
Gareth Southgate’s side laid their demons to rest as they beat Colombia on penalties in the last 16 on Tuesday night following a 1-1 draw in Moscow.
It was England’s first shootout success in a World Cup – at their fourth attempt – and their reward is a quarter-final against Sweden, who are 12 places below them in the world rankings.
However, the Scandinavians have only conceded in one of their four matches in the tournament – their 2-1 defeat to Germany – and Neville says England will find it tough to break them down.
He said: “Playing against Sweden is generally not a pretty affair. They are difficult to play against. They’re efficient, know what they’re doing and have a good system of play.
“Iceland caused us problems two years ago, and it will be a very similar game to that. They’ve got quality as well.
“It’s going to be a really difficult game – but a game that we can be confident in. A game that we can win.
“Brazil have amazing players – they’re on a different level. We’re playing against Sweden, so we can be absolutely confident that we’ll be able to match them in every department.”
England looked set to secure a place in the last eight of the World Cup in normal time, as they led Colombia 1-0 late on and did not look like conceding.
But a Yerry Mina goal – the centre-back’s third in as many matches – deep into injury time prolonged the match, and Neville says England will have to focus on improving their performance.
“The recovery is absolutely critical,” he said. “They’ll have it spot on in the camp, I’m sure.
“The emotion can sometimes drain you, and before you know it you’ve got a game coming. The players should enjoy these moments, but they have to recover physically and mentally.
0:40 Gary Neville says it's not arrogance to get carried away over England's prospects at the World Cup
“There’s a post-match analysis to do. Should we have scored a second goal? Should we have sprung counter-attacks on them? Can we show a little more creativity?
“Our plan A is fantastic. We look so dangerous early in the game. But when the game settles down, you have to play differently.
“The lads will be thinking about how they can improve their performance.”
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