Samara: Sweden coach Janne Andersson said his side were ‘easy to analyse but very difficult to beat’ ahead of Saturday’s World Cup quarterfinal against England here.
Sweden are attempting to reach a first semifinal since 1994, when they were beaten 0-1 in the last four by eventual champions Brazil.
They saw off the Netherlands in qualifying and knocked out Italy in a play-off, before finishing top of a World Cup group featuring defending champions Germany.
“I think there was a coach who once said about their team that they’re quite easy to analyse but quite difficult to beat. I think that’s a right description for us,” Andersson told reporters Friday.
“It shouldn’t be that difficult to get an idea of what we do. The surprise is probably that we’re terribly consistent,” he added. “Whether or not you take us seriously and how they perceive it, that’s very difficult for me to say. We’re really strong in our beliefs and we really have been from the outset.”
Football isn’t that simple. You can’t identify one single factor, you need to look at the overall picture. We need to be perfect in all aspects. It’s a holistic approach
Janne Andersson
Sweden have lost to England just once in eight competitive meetings – a 2-3 defeat during the group stage at Euro 2012 – but Andersson said past records are meaningless. “We’re a completely different squad and so are they, so anything that went before is not relevant,” he said.
The 3-0 win over Mexico in Sweden’s final group match is the only time the Scandinavians have scored more than once in their past 11 official games.