Sweden will work to neutralise the threat posed by England’s Harry Kane on Saturday, when the two sides meet in their World Cup quarter‑final in Samara. Andreas Granqvist, Sweden’s captain, said preventing England from supplying the current top scorer in Russia would be key to his team’s chances.
“We know they have Harry Kane, who is really dangerous in the penalty box, so we need to be very strong in the box and try to make sure that they don’t get the service that they need,” Granqvist said, after a Sweden training session at the Samara Arena on Friday afternoon.
Granqvist joked that both he and Kane had a 100% penalty record so far in the tournament, with the former Wigan defender scoring two and Kane scoring three and one in a penalty shootout. But he said it was not just Kane’s penalties concerning Sweden.
“He’s incredibly skilled, not just at penalties but as a striker. He’s good at everything and it’s going to be a very tough match against him. But we’re going to do everything to stop him.”