At the final whistle, the victorious players converged on one another. It took a few seconds for them to gather their breath and then, finally, they could join the party that was already under way behind the goal to their right. England had booked their place in a World Cup semi-final and this kind of euphoria has been so long coming – more than a quarter of a century since the last occasion – it was probably just inevitable they would soon be dancing on the pitch as well as in the stands. If we were to be picky, a legitimate argument could be made that England will need to play with more finesse if they are to harbour serious ambitions of winning this competition. They will have to pass the ball more efficiently and maybe, in possession, show a touch more arrogance, in the manner of a side that really believes they are the elite and this is where they belong. France, for example. Or Belgium. For now, however, Gareth Southgate and his players are fully entitled to cherish these moments bearing in mind the last time it happened Bobby Robson was manager and Spitting Image’s puppet of the England coach was a senile worrier called Rubbisho. Turin, 1990, with the penalties, Gazza’s tears and all that, is written into England’s history. This time, maybe there will be a happier ending. But the real glory will only be attainable in Moscow next Sunday and, on this evidence, they should not hold any fears about meeting Croatia in Wednesday’s semi-final. Why not be confident, after all, when England have now scored as many goals, 11, as Sir Alf Ramsey’s side in 1966? Eight of them, astonishingly, have come from set plays, the latest being the header from Harry Maguire to swing this game in England’s favour. Some might even argue they are too reliant on scoring this way. For that, show them the tape of Dele Alli’s goal or the other occasions when they threatened to add others. England played stodgily at times, particularly in the first half, but it was a controlled performance overall and, importantly, the four players who would have missed the semi-final had they received another booking remained out of the referee’s notebook. Southgate’s team will be at full strength on Wednesday. Anything, as he says, is possible. Dele Alli scores England’s second goal in their World Cup quarter-final victory against Sweden at the Samara Arena. Photograph: Kieran McManus/BPI/Rex/Shutterstock At this point, as is becoming the norm, it is probably worth noting the now-familiar reminder from England’s manager that it is still not time to get too carried away. Not yet, anyway. Equally, Southgate also made the point that his team can play considerably better than they did for long spells of their latest victory. Early on it was disconcerting to see the way his team struggled, the way passes were misplaced and the suspicion, however briefly it passed, that the occasion had got to a couple of his players. In their previous matches, England had been so quick to set the tempo, passing the ball incisively and making it clear very quickly that they would be happy to take the game to their opponents. That was not the case here. Ultimately, though, that sluggish start will quickly be forgotten and once they had taken the lead, half an hour in, there were only fleeting moments when England looked in any danger. Until that point, it had been a laboured performance. But then England won their first corner. No other player in the World Cup has won more aerial challenges than Maguire and it was strange, to say the least, that Sweden had designated Emil Forsberg to mark him. Maguire had a seven-inch advantage and made it count. It was a mismatch, the ball thudded off Maguire’s forehead, powered in to the right of the Swedish goalkeeper, Robin Olsen, and England had scored from a corner for the fourth time in this tournament. Sweden will reflect on the save that Jordan Pickford made from Marcus Berg’s header at the start of the second half and, though he was needed only sporadically, this was another splendid performance from England’s goalkeeper, showing again that he can handle the big occasion. The World Cup Fiver: sign up and get our daily football email Pickford pulled off another brilliant save at 2-0, when Viktor Claesson had the chance to change the complexion of the match. It was England’s first clean sheet of the tournament and there was never a concerted spell when Sweden – willing but limited opponents – managed to pin them back. Instead, it might have been an even more straightforward victory if some of England’s better chances had fallen to Kane rather than Raheem Sterling. His first one-on-one with Olsen ended in a late offside flag, though the England player was not to know that. The second would have made it 2-0 at the interval and, though it was largely inconsequential in the end, this is the stage of the competition when Southgate desperately needs his front players to have ice in their veins. For all his many qualities, Sterling turns to slush too often and as long as that is case he will struggle to improve an England record that has now stretched to two goals from 42 appearances. Harry Maguire heads in England’s first-half opener. Photograph: Mike Hewitt/Fifa via Getty Images No big deal, though. Sterling played his part, always looking to create mischief, and the way he stretches defences makes up in part for his erratic finishing. As for Kane, another goal from England’s leading scorer would have meant him outscoring Paolo Rossi when he won the Golden Boot in 1982, Gary Lineker when he did the same in 1986 and Totò Schillaci in 1990. As it was, Kane worked hard without getting many opportunities to add to his total and, strangely, that is one of the areas where England need to improve. Penalties and corners aside, Kane’s teammates are not creating enough chances for their principal scorer.<doc-sep>Harry Maguire and Dele Alli headed the goals that saw England past Sweden and into the World Cup semi-finals<doc-sep>Sweden (4-4-2) Robin Olsen Could not really have been expected to do anything about either goal and got a vital hand to the ball to thwart Sterling when one on one. 6 Emil Krafth In for the suspended Mikael Lustig but struggled to fill those boots.. Lost possession in dangerous positions. Found his feet later on with a couple of important interceptions. 6 Victor Lindelöf The Manchester United defender made a couple of important interceptions but was overwhelmed by the dominance of England. 5 Andreas Granqvist The captain made a vital tackle to stop Sterling in the box when the forward looked likely to score but was unremarkable otherwise. 6 Ludwig Augustinsson Left‑back failed to pick up Maguire for the goal and skied his free‑kick high above the bar in the closing minutes of the quarter-final. 4 Viktor Claesson Plays for Krasnodar in Russia and the gulf in class showed. He deserves credit for battling defensive work and troubling Pickford with a fizzing shot. 5 Sebastian Larsson The Hull City midfielder returned after missing the Switzerland game but failed to make much difference and was largely anonymous. 5 Albin Ekdal Could not assert himself, despite an enviable work rate and was punished accordingly by England’s rampaging forwards. 4 Emil Forsberg Scored the decisive goal against Switzerland but could not perform heroics in Samara and no match for Maguire’s head in the penalty area. 4 Marcus Berg Unlucky to be flagged offside when he got behind Maguire and produced two decent efforts which required Pickford’s intervention. Sweden’s biggest attacking threat. 6 Ola Toivonen The 32-year-old striker was out of his depth, although he played a good through pass for Claesson to create arguably Sweden’s best chance. 5 Substitutes John Guidetti The forward came on for Toivonen in the 65th minute. Booked. Martin Olsson The Swansea defender replaced Forsberg in the 65th minute. Pontus Jansson Leeds defender replaced Krafth in the 85th minute. England (3-3-2-2) Jordan Pickford The little guy who always goes with the wrong hand produced outstanding saves to continue a barnstorming World Cup tournament. 9 Kyle Walker A couple of brilliant defensive headers to halt dangerous Sweden counterattacks and generally looked at home on the big stage. 7 John Stones Another assured display, his composure notable as he played the ball out from the back despite being under pressure. 7 Harry Maguire One of England’s top performers of the tournament rose high above the Sweden defence to break the stalemate with a booming header. 8 Kieran Trippier Reinforced his claim to be the best right‑back at this World Cup with a masterly reading of the game and several perfect passes. 8 Jordan Henderson Another masterclass in midfield. A defensive brick wall and set the tempo, not to mention a great ball over the top to put Sterling free. 8 Ashley Young Lost possession a couple of times early on but delivered a pinpoint corner for the opener. No reason why he should be replaced by Danny Rose. 7 Jesse Lingard Perfectly weighted ball to Alli for the second goal and he grew into the game, contributing with energy as England’s tired bodies showed. 6 Dele Alli Looked nervous, possibly struggling for fitness, but in an assured second‑half performance his header doubled England’s lead. 7 Harry Kane A rare game off the scoresheet for the leading Golden Boot candidate but still played an essential role in bullying the Sweden defence. 7 Raheem Sterling Will be rightly criticised for a lack of composure in the box but his pace, movement and quick feet unsettled a few yellow shirts. 8 Substitutes Fabian Delph Replaced Alli in the 77th minute. Eric Dier Replaced Henderson in the 85th minute. Marcus Rashford Manchester United forward came on for Sterling in added time.<doc-sep>The England football team are through to their first World Cup semi-final in almost 30 years and fans have marked the milestone with some pretty hilarious posts on social media. We take a look at some of the best tweets capturing the euphoria being felt throughout the country following the Three Lions' 2-0 win over Sweden on Saturday. Here, former England defender Rio Ferdinand posts a video of ex-captain Alan Shearer celebrating the win by singing Lionel Richie's All Night Long, using a breadstick as a microphone. England manager Gareth Southgate has become an internet meme with this edited image of him buying a trophy cabinet from Swedish furniture store Ikea. Gareth Southgate spotted outside IKEA today #ENGSWE pic.twitter.com/UzaMqSVWR0 — Pete Gordon (@PeteGordon68) July 6, 2018 The euphoria proved a bit too much for one supporter who was seen falling through the roof of a bus stop in Clapham, south London. Advertisement Clapham junction.... spot the guy falling through the bus shelter...🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 pic.twitter.com/GzeCGUG4Ui — victoria coulson (@vickycoulson) July 7, 2018 British Airways got in on the social media fun posting a picture of a boarding pass showing football "coming home" from Moscow. This viral post showed how those at a church wedding kept on top of the England score on Saturday. This mock-up image of the current England team winning the World Cup has been doing the rounds too, paying homage to the 1966 team who last lifted the trophy for England. 2010: Guardiola was Barcelona coach, Spain won the World Cup. 2014: Guardiola was Bayern Munich coach, Germany won the World Cup. 2018: Guardiola is Man City coach, Football is coming home.😁#WorldCup #Russia2018 pic.twitter.com/jG1PFjW5X7 — Bolarinwa Olajide (@iambolar) July 8, 2018 Harry Maguire has been hailed a hero after his impressive header opened the scoring on Saturday. ‘So the cross came on in and I just nodded it in, like. Proper brave I was’ pic.twitter.com/izAG24G29k — Man on the Post (@ManOnThePost) July 7, 2018 Even England believes it could be "coming home" - defender Kyle Walker can't get the football anthem out of his head. When you can’t get “it’s coming home” theme tune out your head pic.twitter.com/RisR1wPL31 — Kyle Walker (@kylewalker2) July 7, 2018 Nor can the guards at Windsor Castle, who have been playing the tune much to the satisfaction of England fans everywhere.<doc-sep>
England (England! ENGLAND? Eng-ger-land!) beat Sweden 2–0 on Saturday and is heading to the semifinals of the World Cup for the first time since 1990. The Three Lions have alternated between heartbreak and embarrassment in major tournaments for decades, but Gareth Southgate has his young squad playing with confidence. England fans are rightfully ecstatic, and they can start believing that their beloved team (theoretically) could (just maybe) really (almost actually) win the World Cup. And they don’t even have to worry about playing Germany! How does an island of 53 million success-starved soccer fans celebrate? By blotting out a rare moment of sunshine with thousands of pints of lukewarm beer, of course. VIDEO: England fans react in London after the first goal against Sweden in their #WorldCup quarter-final pic.twitter.com/GCKFqqkz0b — AFP news agency (@AFP) July 7, 2018 In local parlance, this is what is called “scenes.” Scenes at @BoxparkCroydon as England take the lead against Sweden! 😧🍻 #ENG pic.twitter.com/QcJEAB071c — Football Fans Podcast (@FootballFansPod) July 7, 2018 Amazingly, there were people in England who attended other sporting events on Saturday, including Wimbledon and the British Grand Prix. Fans at the latter event didn’t need to eat those non-refundable tickets, however, as they put the match on at Silverstone Circuit and everyone got to watch Dele Alli head in England’s second goal. 100,000 Formula 1 fans are watching the England game at Silverstone. These were the scenes when the second goal went in!. 😁 pic.twitter.com/c19cYqU42f — Soccer AM (@SoccerAM) July 7, 2018 There isn’t a single piece of clothing in England that is not completely soaked with beer right now. Usually, you have to wait until 8 p.m. GMT for that to happen. England plays the winner of Saturday’s Croatia-Russia quarterfinal. Fans will have to wait until Wednesday to see their Three Lions again, but something tells me they’ll be able to keep the party going. VIDEO: England fans in London react to the team's second goal against Sweden in the #WorldCup quarter-final pic.twitter.com/QBlPyShc3C — AFP news agency (@AFP) July 7, 2018 Read the rest of Slate’s coverage of the 2018 World Cup.