I feel a little bit english

Despite going into the game as underdogs, Eriksson has backed his home country to shock the world.

“To score against Sweden is extremely difficult,” Sven said

“They have shown it so many times now. If England think they will have an easy match on Saturday that is a big mistake. I think it will be very difficult.

“England have the players individually to do something special.

“Kane is one of them, Sterling is another, but when I tell you it is difficult to beat Sweden it is the truth.

“In the World Cup play-off, Italy couldn’t score in 180 minutes, Germany only scored [in Group F] with a free-kick at the end.”

“Congratulations to England and Southgate. It was great to see England win a penalty shootout. Mentally, they were very, very strong. I’m very happy for them.

“I think England can go very far in this tournament. They have good players and they seem to be very organised.

“They have young, hungry players. You saw against Columbia , they were the better team and won it.”

Sweden will be without Celtic right-back Mikael Lustig for the quarter-final, but Eriksson played down the significance of his suspension.

“If one is suspended, they will put in another one and you won’t know the difference,” he said.

“Sweden don’t have a Kane, Sterling or a Neymar. They are a collective team. They work extremely hard.”

When asked if he would be supporting England if they beat Sweden on Saturday, Sven replied: “Yes, absolutely. I still feel a little bit English!”