Samara: Sweden have stepped up the mind games ahead of Saturday’s World Cup quarter-final by claiming they will target England’s inexperienced back three and openly questioning their skill on the ball, but John Stones is adamant Gareth Southgate’s side are ready for anything after proving they will not be intimidated in the victory over Colombia.
England are favourites for the game in Samara but Sweden have highlighted weaknesses they can exploit, with midfielder Sebastian Larsson claiming all the pressure is on Southgate’s men.
And Sweden say they will target England’s three centre-backs, with their 69-year-old scout, Tom Prahl, claiming that Kyle Walker, Stones and Harry Maguire are less effective than several other European nations at quickly passing the ball.
“They are not so very skilled when it comes to moving the ball, compared to southern Europe,” said Prahl, who is regarded as a tactical genius in his homeland following league titles with both Malmo and Halmstads and is now advising the national team and drawing up dossiers on their opponents.
“They have not been put under that much pressure so far; the opponents have stayed back and let them stand there and pass the ball. So they’ve been given the opportunity to move it nice and slow. The question is: will they get problems if we put some pressure on them? And what will happen with our game if we do? We will get the answers during the game.”
Prahl also claimed to be happy his side were facing England rather than Colombia because he already knows much more about their game before Larsson, who spent 14 years in the Premier League with Arsenal, Hull City, Birmingham and Sunderland, also attempted to turn up the heat.
“They have been laying a bit low now, compared to previous tournaments,” said Larsson of England as his side flew into Samara on Thursday, some 24 hours ahead of Southgate’s men. “It has been working out well for them, but I know how it works over there. Now they expect to at least advance past us. It is a pressure they will have to carry. If they would lose against Sweden, it would be tough for them I think.”
But Stones says England are more streetwise than in previous years particularly when it comes to “buying fouls” and not reacting to incidents. “Football has evolved as a whole,” he said. “And definitely now the game has changed from four years ago. The boys know when they are in a situation where they can’t get out and look to buy a foul and I think that is clever play. I’ve been on the end of clever players getting their body between me and the ball and getting fouls from me. And sometimes you can’t complain and the lads are very clever. I say clever but it is about having a great footballing brain and knowing when to do that without being called a cheat and diving.
“I don’t think there is anyone in our team who would do that or want to do that. Being clever and buying a smart foul is something that we’ve got as a team and it can help us through the tournament.”
