Backed into a corner
Sweden against England is shaping up to be a great quarter final tie. Can Sweden go on further and maybe even take a medal like they did all those years ago in 1994? Or is it finally time for England to get to another World Cup final?
One thing’s for sure is that England are going to have much more possession, like they’ve done in every match up to now. For Sweden, they’ll take solace in their defensive solidarity where they feel most secure. Corners are something both teams like to go for and are rightly strong at. I think England are going to win the corner battle though when it comes to this quarter final.
It’ll be a tight game in terms of who wins corners, but England will just edge it
Sweden
Sweden continues to surprise. After winning their group that contained the likes of South Korea, Germany and Mexico, they’ve also now knocked out Switzerland in the round of 16. The Swedish defence has made few mistakes so far, and they look positive in trying to burst forward to make chances in front of goal.
If we focus on the corners, Sweden won 6-5 against South Korea, then going onto win 8-3 against Germany, 7-3 against Mexico and an astonishing 11-3 against Switzerland. Sweden’s ability to go and win this battle against an incredibly offensive England side is now severely reduced, especially cause the Swedes look more secure in defensive positions.
The fact that Sweden will be pushed further back than in any other match they’ve played will damage their ability to create corner chances. Having said that I believe they’ll knock the ball out quickly and will still win some. It’ll be a tight game in terms of who wins corners, but England will just edge it.
England
England broke their abysmal record of have never won a penalty shoot out at the World Cup when they knocked out Colombia. England dominated the majority of the play in the match but were forced into extra time when Mina scored a powerful header off a corner in the final minute. Extra time was even between the two sides. Colombia were the better side in the first 15 minutes, and England in the second. They were forced into penalties where England looked ice cool.
Up until this point England have been extremely successful in creating and scoring from corner ball situations
Now Sweden await them in the quarters, a team that both English fans and team alike are certain they’ll defeat. England look to dominant the match, probably enjoying the majority of possession in Sweden’s half and down the flanks, increasing the likelihood of winning corners.
Up until this point England have been extremely successful in creating and scoring from corner ball situations. They’ve had the most corners in every World Cup match they’ve played so far, with 7-2 against Tunisia, 3-2 against Panama, 7-2 against Belgium and now 7-2 against Colombia.
Match Tips
For this match I’m playing England -1 on corners Asian Handicap. Also a win for England if they have two or more corners than Sweden, my money back if England have one corner more. I’ll lose if Sweden have one or more corners than England.
Odds of 4/5 with Bethard are looking pretty good to me.
