Sweden right-back Emil Krafth believes his side are fresher than England ahead of their World Cup quarter-final on Saturday – but is he right?
The Bologna right-back earned his first game time at the tournament during Sweden’s 1-0 win over Switzerland in the last 16 and is likely to start in place of the suspended Mikael Lustig.
After England were forced to endure extra-time and a dramatic penalty shootout against Colombia, Krafth said: “They [England] had 30 minutes more than us and less rest, so we hope we can take advantage of that.
“We play as a team, we are really a team, we fight for each other and we run for each other. That’s our strategy. No one is left behind.”
But, across the tournament, have the Swedes worked harder than England on the pitch? We checked the running stats for each predicted line-up to find out…
Predicted line-up
Doubts remain over Dele Alli’s fitness after he suffered a thigh injury against Tunisia and was subbed off during the last-16 clash with Colombia – so we have taken a punt with Ruben Loftus-Cheek starting in his place.
For Sweden, Sebastian Larsson is expected to return to the regular starting line-up in place of Gustav Svensson after serving a one-match suspension, although Albin Ekdal has fitness concerns with a foot injury.
Minutes played
Of those predicted line-ups, England’s XI have actually played 21 minutes fewer than the Swedes, racking up 3,482 minutes on the pitch compared with 3,503.
If Loftus-Cheek starts, the Chelsea star should be England’s freshest player with just 205 minutes on the pitch so far, while Raheem Sterling (260), Jesse Lingard (295) and Harry Kane (296) are all below the 300-minute threshold.
Goalkeeper Jordan Pickford is the only England player to have played every minute in the tournament so far with 421 minutes – including stoppage time and extra-time across the four fixtures.
Centre-backs Harry Maguire (376 minutes) and John Stones (373) have clocked considerable game time – with Stones starting against Belgium and Maguire coming on from the bench – when Gareth Southgate made eight changes to rest his key players.
For Sweden, ‘keeper Robin Olsen and defenders Andreas Granqvist and Ludwig Augustinsson have played in each of their country’s 389 minutes at the tournament – more than Maguire and Stones.
Meanwhile, Krafth, who claimed Sweden would exploit England’s fatigue, is the only player with fewer minutes than an England player, having racked up only 14 minutes in Russia during the closing stages against Switzerland.
Distance covered
Players could be excused for suffering from fatigue as the tournament approaches its latter stages, but Sweden’s predicted XI have actually covered 12 km more than England’s expected side – covering 339 km compared with 327 km.
Interestingly, a majority of Sweden’s running activity has been when the opposition has had possession – while the majority of England’s activity is in possession.
John Stones has covered a team-topping 36.3 km, toppling Jordan Henderson (35.3 km) as England’s top runner after Tuesday night.
Lingard and Maguire are next up with 34.1 km, followed by Kieran Trippier (31.3 km), Kyle Walker (29.5 km), Ashley Young (28.6 km) and Kane (28.3 km).
Sterling ranks bottom of the first-choice outfield starters with 26.1 km covered to date – but the Manchester City winger has played 36 minutes fewer than any other.
For Sweden, four players have covered more distance than any England player, with Augustinsson (41.1 km) and Viktor Claesson (40.1 km) both surpassing 40 km – almost the distance of a marathon.
Countering fatigue
Sprints and speed are the most effective means to exploit opposition fatigue – but how do England and Sweden compare?
Sprints
England are far more likely to burst from the blocks, completing 902 to Sweden’s 767. Jesse Lingard is the most prolific sprinter from either side, contributing 138 to the Three Lion’s total – ranking 33rd across the entire tournament – followed by Sterling (113), Trippier (111) and Walker (100).
Of the first-choice starting XI, Harry Kane (52) is the least inclined to sprint, while Maguire (76), Stones (78) and Young (82) are also below average.
Once again, Augustinsson tops the stats for Sweden with 131 sprints so far, followed by Claesson (117) and Forsberg (98), while centre-backs Lindelof (38) and Granqvist (50) rank bottom – which may interest England’s pacy forward line.
Top speed
Lingard and Walker have been the fastest players in Russia to take the field on Saturday, each clocking 33.5 km/h, while Sterling (33.1 km/h) and Henderson (32.6 km/h) have also recorded faster speeds than any Sweden player.
At the other end of the scale, Pickford (26.8 km/h) has hit a faster speed than England’s slowest player Kane (25.0 km/h).
Only three Sweden players have smashed the 30 km/h threshold: Ola Toivonen (32.2 km/h), Lindelof (31.5 km/h) and Berg (30.2 km/h) – while Larrson (28.1 km/h) and Forsberg (28.8 km/h) are among the slowest.
While right-back replacement Krafth believes Sweden can capitalise on England’s fatigue from Tuesday night’s exertions, his side have actually played more minutes and covered more distance across the tournament.
In addition, England appear more likely to exploit any signs of fatigue Sweden may show, having the fourth-highest total of sprints in Russia and explosive pace in the likes of Lingard – facets Sweden simply do not have.
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