Team News
England has had to leave many of their internationals behind due to various reasons. Jonjo Shelvey of Liverpool, Theo Walcott of Arsenal, Kyle Walker of Tottenham, Aaron Lennon of Tottenham, Ashley Cole of Chelsea and Wayne Rooney of Manchester United have all pulled out. Hence, Arsenal’s Carl Jenkinson and Spurs’ Tom Huddlestone have been called up. Jenkinson can of-course can also feature for Finland.
Wilfried Zaha has also been called up; he becomes the first non-Premiership player to receive the call since Jay Bothroyd in 2010. Zaha can also feature for the Ivory Coast. Arsenal’s Alex Oxlade Chamberlain is not match-fit while Spurs’ Jermain Defoe is injured. Sweden meanwhile travel with a good squad with no such last minute pull outs.
Analysis
Both teams are in good form coming into this one. Sweden will play with plenty of belief considering they managed to do the unthinkable recently- come back from a four goal deficit against the Germans. Sweden showed in the last half hour of that match that they can play with pace. Their main strategy seems to involve long balls. Zlatan Ibrahimovic is obviously their main threat and was fabulous against Germany.
England, despite recording big victories over poor opposition, is not too convincing. The 1-1 draw with Poland showed that England still has some way to go before they can expect their peers on the international scene to look up to them. England and Sweden have provided some great matches in the past for the viewers and this should turn out to be another one.
Both teams will try to make the most of set-piece situations. The match might not be the best in terms of flowing football but should still be an entertaining and evenly balanced affair.
Head to head Record
Sweden 2-3 England (European Championships 2012)
England 1-0 Sweden (International Friendly 2011)
Sweden 2-2 England (FIFA World Cup 2006)
Sweden 1-0 England (International Friendly 2004)
England 1-1 Sweden (FIFA World Cup 2002)
Previous Results
Sweden:
Germany 4-4 Sweden (World Cup Qualifier)
Faroe Islands 1-2 Sweden (World Cup Qualifier)
Sweden 2-0 Kazakhstan (World Cup Qualifier)
Sweden 1-0 China (International Friendly)
Sweden 0-3 Brazil (International Friendly)
England:
Poland 1-1 England (World Cup Qualifier)
England 5-0 San Marino (World Cup Qualifier)
England 1-1 Ukraine (World Cup Qualifier)
Moldova 0-5 England (World Cup Qualifier)
England 2-1 Italy (World Cup Qualifier)
Prediction
Sweden should be able to win this one considering their recent improvement.
Final Score: Sweden 2-1 England
