World Cup 2018: 3 reasons why Sweden lost 0-2 to England

#2 No service to the strikers in the first half

Ola Toivonen cut a frustrated figure

The Scandinavian side hardly had a sniff at goal in the first half. Though England’s solid defence must be credited for it, much of the responsibility must be held by the Swedish full-backs Augustinsson and Krafth, whose crosses into the area were average, at best. There was no whip or zip in their deliveries, just hopeful projectiles which the English centre-back trio were only too happy to deal with.

As a result, forwards Marcus Berg and Ola Toivonen didn’t have much to attack in the opposition box. Even through the middle, there was always the assurance of Jordan Henderson sitting in front of the defence as part of a 3-5-2 system to cut out any promising attacks.

It needed the concession of the Harry Maguire goal to induce some urgency into the Swedish side whose build-up play had been slow, without purpose and devoid of any creativity until that point. Their progress was further impeded by some disciplined English defending which the Scandinavians struggled to break down. It was a half of near-isolation for Berg and Toivonen, resulting in the latter being withdrawn for Guidetti midway through the second half.