Player Ratings: Sweden 0-2 England - Maguire continues to flourish for Three Lions
A closer look at the performances and explanation of the player ratings from England’s 2-0 win over Sweden in the quarter-finals of the 2018 World Cup.
Sweden - 6.36
Robin Olsen - 5.63 - Did well to prevent Raheem Sterling from scoring a one-on-one in the first half, but should have come and claimed the ball instead of watching Dele Alli nod home England’s second of the game.
Emil Krafth - 6.42 - Did a poor job of deputising for the suspended Mikael Lustig, failing to make a tackle or an interception during his 84 minutes on the pitch.
Victor Lindelof - 6.35 - Was generally in the right place at the right time to prevent England from shooting just as they looked like creating openings.
Andreas Granqvist - 7.21 - Made more clearances than any player from either side (13) and constantly threw his body on the line, blocking five shots. It was a fine performance capping a solid World Cup campaign for the veteran.
Ludwig Augstinsson - 6.35 - Started well in his duel with Kieran Trippier but the England full-back won the war and Augstinsson faded towards the end. He fluffed his lines from a free-kick to get Sweden back in the match towards the end.
Viktor Claesson - 6.88 - Had to work hard defensively, making six tackles and interceptions combined, before being denied a goal by a super Jordan Pickford save.
Albin Ekdal - 6.88 - Carried out his defensive duties well, making four tackles and eight clearances but only completed 63.9% of his passes from central midfield.
Seb Larsson - 6.24 - Was virtually anonymous in central midfield when Sweden had the ball, failing to register a shot, a key pass or a successful dribble.
Emil Forsberg - 6.13 - Sweden failed to get their creative spark into the game. He completed two dribbles but didn’t have a shot at goal and failed to carve out a single goalscoring opportunity.
Marcus Berg - 6.66 - Ends the World Cup having failed to score from 15 shots in the tournament. He was twice denied by stunning Pickford saves and set up another glorious chance for Claesson.
Ola Toivonen - 6.00 - While Berg at least threatened on occasion, his strike partner barely broke into sweat. No player that started managed fewer touches of the ball than Toivonen (25).
Subs: Martin Olsson (6.18), John Guidetti (6.01), Pontus Jansson (6.16)
England - 7.21
Jordan Pickford - 7.38 - England dominated the game but had Pickford to thank for keeping their first clean sheet of the 2018 World Cup. The Three Lions goalkeeper made three stunning saves to thwart the Swedes.
Kyle Walker - 7.59 - Started the match nervously but grew into the match, attempting more passes than any other player on the pitch (73).
John Stones - 7.43 - Set the tone early on with some commanding headers. Only Maguire (10) won more aerial duels than Stones (6) from either side.
Harry Maguire - 8.87 (man of the match) - Thundered through the air like a juggernaut, but combined his unbelievable aerial ability with tremendous composure with the ball at his feet. Maguire won 10 aerial duels and fittingly powered England into the lead with a thumping header in the first half.
Kieran Trippier - 7.35 - Wasn’t as influential going forward as previous matches but was impressive in the air, winning five aerial duels against a physical Sweden side.
Dele Alli - 7.55 - Looked completely off the pace in the first half but popped up with England’s second goal to continue his fine trait of scoring in big matches.
Jordan Henderson - 7.39 - Continues to grow as a real leader of the team from central midfield. There is a lot of pressure on his role as the only defensive-minded midfielder in the team, but he is only getting better. Not only was it a measured performance from Henderson, but he also avoided a costly yellow card that would have ruled him out of the semi-finals.
Jesse Lingard - 8.20 - Continues to prove an indispensable member of Southgate’s England plans, covering ground like a marathon runner and constantly showing for the ball. His delivery for England’s second goal was executed to perfection.
Ashley Young - 7.42 - Proved his worth in the team ahead of Danny Rose by whipping in the corner that England opened the scoring from.
Raheem Sterling - 6.48 - Caused havoc in the first half by dropping deeper and spinning in behind the Sweden defence but still looks short of confidence in front of goal, wasting a glorious one-on-one.
Harry Kane - 6.85 - Another unselfish performance from Harry Kane that saw the England captain drop deep to lick up with England’s attacking midfielders. Dragged wide a long range effort early in the first half.
Subs: Fabian Delph (6.20), Marcus Rashford (5.99), Eric Dier (6.27)
