Sweden stand in the way of England's World Cup charge

Enthused by an exciting young squad and a potentially kind draw against Sweden in tomorrow's quarter-final, England fans are starting to believe they can end a 52-year wait to win the World Cup.

But the obdurate Scandinavians have a habit of upsetting the odds, particularly against England, having lost just one of eight previous competitive meetings.

Confidence in England is soaring after the team ended a long wait to win a World Cup penalty shootout, squeezing past Colombia in a tense and bad-tempered last-16 tie in Moscow.

"We'd like to bring it home," said England defender John Stones on Thursday.

"I'd love to win a World Cup, England would love to win a World Cup.

"It's been a long time since we last won it. We want to make people proud back home."
"I'm getting videos and pictures from my friends back home watching the game, in the pubs, wherever they are in the country."
"I think if you say it's an easy game in a quarter-final of a World Cup then you are pretty stupid to say that."
"Sometimes they can throw you, these teams. They can go kind of under the radar, but there is no question they are a good team. They wouldn't be where they are if they weren't."
- Solid Sweden -
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"If you look at the games we have played of course the opponent has more ball possession, but we have created more dangerous chances. This is how we play... this is our way to have success."