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On Tuesday, the World Cup B group matches will come to an end. In the final match, the Swedish national team, who have not yet secured a spot in the round of 16, will face a tough test against England, who have not yet lived up to their hopes in terms of their playing quality.
England - Sweden
Time: 22:00 (Lithuanian time), live on LTV
Venue: Rhein-Energie stadium, Cologne (capacity 45,000)
Referee: Massimo Busacca (Switzerland)
Predictions:
Both the favorites of the tournament, England, and the Swedish national team, who are not considered outsiders, have not yet been able to demonstrate the strong gameplay that coaches, fans, and football experts expect. Despite that, England, though not without difficulty, won both matches and secured a spot in the round of 16. The situation for the Swedes is a bit more complicated - having failed to defeat Trinidad and Tobago and only managing to beat Paraguay in the final seconds, the Scandinavians will still have to fight for a spot in the next stage.
Nevertheless, bookmakers favor England in this match, although the team's strategist, S.G. Eriksson, plans to rest several key players. However, if the coaching staff of the national teams can properly motivate the English and force them to fight with all their might, Sweden is likely to face their toughest match of the tournament.
It is interesting to note that the team that finishes first in Group B, a position which the English are realistically aiming for, may face a stronger opponent in the round of 16 than the team that finishes second in the group - in the next stage they will face the teams that finished in the top two places in Group A. It is already clear that it will be Germany and Ecuador, but in order for the latter to secure the first position, they will need a draw in their final match with the hosts.
It is entirely possible that the Germans will remain in second place and have to compete with the strongest team from Group B.
Mathematics:
England already have a spot in the round of 16, but if they lose to Sweden, they will lose the first position.
For the Scandinavians to advance to the next stage, a draw is enough. If they stumble and Trinidad and Tobago celebrate victory over Paraguay, they will enter the knockout stage if they have a better goal difference than the Swedes.
The Paraguayans probably have the least motivation to fight, as the last match is meaningless for them in tournament terms, so Anibal Ruiz's charges will only fight for honor.
Second match:
England 2 - 0 Trinidad and Tobago
After the first half, most of the England team's supporters had good reason to worry - for the second consecutive match, the team not only failed to score (in the match against Paraguay, an own goal was scored - ed. note), but also failed to show that they could achieve top results in this World Cup.
