Where England-Sweden quarter-final will be decided

Yahoo

a day ago

This is the game. This is the test. I feel that if England beat Sweden on Thursday they will reach the final of Euro 2025.
It will be such a close quarter-final, but I believe England will win.
There will be some fascinating battles across the pitch, but here are three areas that will be crucial.
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Blackstenius v England centre-backs
England captain Leah Williamson will be acutely aware of Sweden striker Stina Blackstenius' speed and the fact she likes to stretch the backline because they play together at Arsenal.
Blackstenius is so good at running in behind. The way she took the first goal in Sweden's 4-1 win over Germany showed a real intelligence to keep onside. It was top-level forward play.
She has been accused of missing clear-cut chances, but she executed that perfectly. That will have given her a real boost.
Sweden had 48% possession against Germany, but they showed they could handle pressure because they had weapons on the counter-attack. Blackstenius is a focal point for the team and the one that probably allows Sweden to play more direct when they need to.
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England centre-backs Williamson and Jess Carter need to have good awareness of where Blackstenius is. They need to get it right positionally.
They need to get tight to her in the box when the ball goes out wide because Blackstenius is really good in the air. Sweden recorded the most open-play crosses during the group stage (61) and they are dangerous in those situations.
Williamson showed her defensive strengths in the Champions League final. She came up against top-quality forwards and used her pace and reading of the game to intercept passes.
She is so composed on the ball that she can play her way out of pressure. That is so important for the way England build from the back.
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Carter complements Williamson well because she can distribute off both feet and is very good at using her body to block runs.
Goalkeeper Hannah Hampton has a role to play in helping England's centre-backs by reducing the space Blackstenius has to run in behind.
There was a lot of noise around Hampton becoming number one, but her distribution has been excellent so the Sweden defence need to be wary of that. If they push up too high she can play long balls over the top.
Teams have analysed England and looked at ways they can exploit them, which has often been through those direct passes or outpacing the defence. But there is no way England will not acknowledge Sweden's strengths. They will be prepared.
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Rytting Kaneryd v Greenwood
Sweden might try and press England high up the pitch. If they do that with Johanna Rytting Kaneryd, then England can keep their forwards isolated against the Sweden full-backs and Lauren Hemp can run at them one-v-one.
England defender Alex Greenwood can put dangerous balls into the right areas with her distribution. The quality of her left foot is so good that she can play it perfectly down the line for Hemp and send her off.
It is one of the benefits of having Greenwood in the left-back position. There is more balance to England's defence since she moved there.
Greenwood will be aware of Rytting Kaneryd's dribbling ability. That is one of the Chelsea forward's super-strengths. She likes to carry the ball past players and get in the box. She is also great at crossing the ball from wide areas - 65% of Sweden's chances created from open play came down her right-hand side in the group stages.
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Rytting Kaneryd also has that trademark 'chop' that catches defenders out all the time in the box. Greenwood needs to stay on her feet, and it is better to keep Rytting Kaneryd out wide as she is more dangerous coming inside.
While England need to be wary of Sweden's wingers, it is the same the other way. Lauren James is just as dangerous to Sweden.
The midfield battle
It will be interesting to see how Sweden's midfield lines up.
Hanna Bennison started the win over Germany. She has great technical ability and is so creative. She is probably more attacking, though, so I wonder if Sweden will bring in Julia Zigiotti Olme against England's creative midfield to add more physical presence.
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Zigiotti Olme can keep things ticking but will also put a foot in. She might be able to do both sides of the game better. There is a good blend in Sweden's midfield.
London City Lionesses midfielder Kosovare Asllani plays in that number 10 role behind Blackstenius and is the link between midfield and attack.
Asllani is clever with the timing of her movement and has been involved in four of Sweden's eight goals in the tournament. She has good footwork and is a really experienced player. It does not seem like the magnitude of games affects her.
Filippa Angeldal has really good vision and can recognise when to push up and when to hold back.
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We saw glimpses of what she could do at Manchester City, but she did not get consistent minutes and now it looks like she has had a new lease of life at Real Madrid. She is reinvigorated and playing so well. She understands her role at Sweden and how effective she can be.
England manager Sarina Wiegman will pick the same midfield three. The balance was lacking against France and they did not recognise the threats. But they have certainly improved on that.
Georgia Stanway has been putting tackles in and adding more bite, which England needed. Ella Toone has come in and connected well with Alessia Russo and James.
Keira Walsh has been getting close to the box and putting in shots. Her team-mates even joked that she is chasing the Golden Boot. That is when England are at their best.
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Anita Asante was speaking to BBC Sport's Emma Sanders.