World Cup 2018: England must make most of opportunity - Gareth Southgate

Published on: 05 July 2018

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England may not get this chance again - Southgate

Gareth Southgate says England must "make the most" of their World Cup opportunity in Russia, starting with Saturday's quarter-final against an "older, more experienced" Sweden.

The match in Samara is England's first quarter-final appearance since 2006.

A victory would earn England a semi-final meeting with Russia or Croatia.

"It's a great opportunity, and although our team will be individually better in two years, we might not have this opportunity again," said Southgate.

England beat Colombia on penalties in the last 16 to record a first knockout stage win at a major tournament since 2006 with only their second penalty shootout win in eight attempts.

Victory over Sweden would hand England a first semi-final since 1990.

Sweden, though, have impressed in the last 12 months - finishing ahead of the Netherlands in qualifying, beating Italy in the subsequent play-offs and qualifying from the group in Russia ahead of defending champions Germany.

"We have huge respect for Sweden. They are a team that I think in the past have been underestimated - we won't make that mistake," added manager Southgate.

"Our players come from the same background as their players. We shouldn't get carried away with ourselves being better than Sweden. They are older, more experienced, and have a better tournament record than us."

More to follow.

Source: bbc.com

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