FIFA World Cup 2018: Will the trophy come home to England?

A breezing and brimming generation of English youngsters have excelled. ’It is coming home’ has slowly become the unofficial slogan of the team, in reference to the famous 1996 song composed by David Badiel and Frank Skinner, as the exploits of the 'Three Lions have gripped fans across the North Sea Channel.

But will the World Cup truly come home to England, the founders of the beautiful game? In Sweden, they don’t only face a staunch opponent in the quarter-finals, but a team that plays with a lot of English ingredients. They are almost more English than the Three Lions themselves.

Sweden’s anglophile football has a longstanding history. Back in the 60’s Tipsextra, a TV show, ran English games on Saturday afternoon, winter and summer. Today, Tipsextra and the live transmission of English football has grown, but Bob Houghton and Roy Hodgson, who coached England at Euro 2016, truly spread the English football philosophy in the late 70’s.

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They transformed Swedish football, introducing the 4-4-2 formation, pressing, zonal marking and revolutionary training techniques. Houghton arrived in Sweden in 1973, Hodgson two years later. The latter led Halmstad to their first league title.

The English duo swept aside the influence that German football had exerted over the Swedish game with a sweeper in defence. Some sections of Sweden’s football constituency were, however, dismayed with the new, rigid playing style and advocated for a philosophy based on 4-3-3. Ultimately, the 4-4-2 camp held sway and it’s been the blueprint of Swedish football ever since.

Current coach Janne Andersson, who has never coached outside of Sweden and won the domestic topflight in 2015 with IFK Norrköping, doesn’t deviate from 4-4-2. He told me before the tournament: “When we attack, we do so in a few different manners, but in defence, it’s a classic 4-4-2.”

In many ways, England then will play themselves in the quarter-finals, and yet Gareth Southgate’s team have evolved, playing a more dynamic 3-4-2-1.

The match may well be won in the midfield. Sweden’s greatest virtue, however, is adaptability: within the 4-4-2 framework, they have shown great aptness and versatility to deal with different opponents and styles. In World Cup qualification they eliminated both the Netherlands and Italy and defeated France at home.

In Russia, they trumped Mexico 3-0 and knocked out Switzerland in the round of sixteen. Sweden doesn’t have star quality and thrivesas a team. England have been warned: underestimating Sweden comes at your own peril.