England show they can use their heads in Sweden victory

The knock against England at this World Cup has been that they rely too heavily on set-pieces. Against Sweden, they also dominated from open play.

There you have it: England are onto the World Cup semifinals, waiting to find out whether they’ll play Russia or Croatia on Wednesday.

The 1966 World Cup winners have looked impressive at this tournament, dominating opponents by taking advantage of set-pieces to create goals. Against Sweden on Saturday in Samara, England showed they have a variety of offensive options in their arsenal. In the end, two headers made the difference in a 2-0 win against Sweden.

This is a complete England team that succeeded by doing the dirty work in midfield, maintaining possession for long stretches and using the wings effectively to create havoc in the Sweden box. They used their heads (both literally and tactically) to win the match.

The goals, as they often do, tell the story of this England victory. The English were rewarded for their offensive play and taking the initiative, stretching Sweden’s backline for 90 minutes. They looked dangerous throughout the match, using surging runs to put pressure on Sweden’s defense and splitting those defenders with a series of passes at the top of the box that either ended up on the wings or were targeted at goal.

Before football can come home, it’s great to head the ball home. In the 30th minute, England took the lead in emphatic fashion via a towering Harry Maguire header off Ashley Young’s corner kick.

Even before critics could snicker that England are set-piece specialists and little else, there came another goal. In the 58th minute, before Sweden could even attempt a comeback, Dele Alli peeled away from the Sweden defense near the back post and headed in Jesse Lingard’s perfect cross.

https://twitter.com/FOXSoccer/status/1015616421793918976

The goal sent the team, and England fans, into ecstasy. England never looked like they were at risk of losing this game. Even when the game was scoreless early on, Gareth Southgate’s team looked poised and determined.

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Indeed, this game also highlighted that England have a variety of options in attack. Even in a match in which Harry Kane, the tournament’s top scorer with six goals, didn’t end up on the scoresheet, his teammates came through for him. Kane did his share, however, as the Three Lions roared into the last four.

Southgate and his players were all smiles at the final whistle. They have every right to be pleased with themselves. After all, they put in a dominant performance against Sweden, controlling it throughout.

England have gotten better with each game at this World Cup, and look like real contenders now. Set-pieces aside, this team have their heads in the right place.