Sweden have taken off for Samara ahead of their World Cup quarter final — a full day ahead of their opponents England. Gareth Southgate's squad will fly in from Saint Petersburg on Friday.

Certain airlines including Emirates, Etihad, American Airlines and Qatar Airways will be broadcasting England's World Cup quarter final live on Saturday afternoon.

Gareth Southgate's buoyant team face Sweden on Saturday, knowing a win will put them into the semi-final for the first time in 28 years, where they will either face Croatia or hosts Russia.

England will have learned plenty from their penalty shootout win over Colombia and are aware of the barrier Sweden represent. Sportsmail looks at how the quarter-final might be won and lost

Ahead of Saturday's World Cup quarter-final in Samara, Sportsmail's MARTIN KEOWN takes a look at the likely Sweden XI who will be out to stop Gareth Southgate's Three Lions.

SAMI MOKBEL IN SAMARA: Southgate, who has considered giving his midfield a defensive feel against Swedenn by starting with Dier in place of Alli, has nurtured a feeling of togetherness.

Steven Gerrard is confident England can beat Sweden in their World Cup quarter-final because they no longer have a maverick such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

The last time a Scandinavian nation beat England in the World cup the reaction from Norwegian commentator Bjørge Lillelien was pretty un-Scandinavian to say the least.

The hours are ticking down to England's World Cup quarter-final against Sweden and the fans are in Samara soaking up the atmosphere ahead of their biggest game in a generation.

In the Samara Arena, situated on the banks of the River Volga in a far-flung corner of the sprawling Russian Motherland, an England team made history.

SAMI MOKBEL AT THE SAMARA ARENA: Goals by Harry Maguire and Dele Alli capped off a relatively comfortable afternoon for England and they now await either Croatia or host Russia in the last four.

England have booked their place in the semi-finals at the World Cup and it was all down to hard work on and off the pitch throughout the tournament, says BBC pundit Alan Shearer. 

It was another memorable victory for England as they beat Sweden 2-0 to reach the World Cup semi-finals for the first time in 28 years. 

Turkey substitute Emre Akbaba got two late goals to snatch a stunning 3-2 win over Sweden in the Nations League as the visitors recovered from two goals down at the Friends Arena on Monday.

Sergio Ramos equalled Iker Casillas' record of 167 caps for Spain as they thrashed the Faroe Islands 4-0 in a Euro 2020 qualifier on Sunday night.

PETE JENSON: Martin Odegaard used to train with Ramos and Cristiano Ronaldo through the week and then play with the B-team Real Madrid Castilla at the weekends.

Kepa Arrizabalaga, who is currently gearing up for Spain's Euro 2020 qualifier against Norway on Saturday night, enjoyed a break from his goalkeeping duties during training.

Alexander Isak has been compared to Zlatan Ibrahimovic since racing on the scene at 16. He turned down Real Madrid as a youngster and is now showing his true potential with Real Sociedad.

Pep Guardiola has maintained he cannot be held responsible if £49million defender John Stones misses out on Euro 2020 due to a lack of game time at Manchester City.

Heather Watson is part of a new crop of players that have recently re-energised the British game. Katie Nicholl meets the British tennis star who's aceing it on and off Centre Court

Johanna Konta met the Duchess of Cambridge at the practice courts before the match but was not aware that the tennis-loving royal was also in the stands.

MIKE DICKSON ON CENTRE COURT: It started with the Centre Court crowd tittering at the velvety baritone of umpire Nouni, and ended with them roaring Konta into the quarter finals.

MIKE DICKSON AT WIMBLEDON: Konta powered her way towards a showdown with Serena Williams on Monday as the American was hit with an £8,000 fine for damaging a championship court.

British Number One Johanna Konta has beaten Czech player Petra Kvitova to reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals.

MIKE DICKSON ON CENTRE COURT: It was all there again for Jo Konta - another Grand Slam semi-final, this time against a possibly vulnerable Serena Williams.

British Number One Johanna Konta said people have told her they 'want her to die', but tries to cut herself off from it by getting a member of her team to delete hurtful comments and block trolls.

MATTHEW LAMBERT AT WIMBLEDON: The British No 1 led 4-1 in the first set but her Czech opponent reeled her back in and Konta was left looking one-dimensional by the end.

Jo Konta left Wimbledon on Tuesday night bitterly disappointed, a Grand Slam semi-final appearance spurned. She also walked away with £294,000. Rewards come with scrutiny.

Most of us appreciate the value of a good night's sleep, but how much would you pay to wake up feeling refreshed and restored each day?

MIKE DICKSON IN NEW YORK: Konta is relishing big tournaments like never before this year, and she clocked her twelfth victory in the Grand Slams this season by reaching the US Open third round.

MIKE DICKSON IN NEW YORK: Martina Navratilova described the British No 1's performance in beating China's Zhuai Shang on Friday night as 'A-plus' as she prepares to take on Karolina Pliskova next.

The actor, 38, looked enthralled as he watched Johanna Konta of Great Britain play against Karolina Pliskova of Czech Republic on Sunday.

MIKE DICKSON IN NEW YORK: Hardly anyone walks tightrope of deciding sets as well as Jo Konta this year, and she successfully did so once again to make the last eight of the US Open.

MIKE DICKSON IN NEW YORK: Words with negative connotations are out when it comes to the work she does with Dimitri Zavialoff. The hairdryer is strictly confined to the hotel room.

MIKE DICKSON IN NEW YORK: This time there were no recriminations or spats with the media, just the numbing disappointment of another missed opportunity.

Konta has not played since losing in the US Open quarter-finals in early September - it is a disappointing end to a brilliant year, who began the year ranked 39 and is currently sitting 11th.

MPs insisted Boris Johnson and rival Jeremy Hunt must 'prove' their commitment to the union during the campaign.

Sir Malcolm Rifkind delivered the stark message after allies of the PM made clear he will try to cling on if he is defeated on a confidence motion by rebel Tories determined to head off No Deal Brexit.

Caroline Lucas has written to ten female MPs calling for an all-women Cabinet. The Green MP proposes a cross-party female leadership team to deliver a new referendum after winning a confidence vote.

Labour looked set to stop Boris Johnson's plans for an early election last night following talks with the SNP. The parties are thought to have agreed an election can only come after a Brexit extension.

RICHARD LITTLEJOHN: Just imagine the reaction if a bunch of pro-Brexit English MPs had got onto their hind legs in the Commons and started singing Land Of Hope And Glory.

The Scottish Labour leader today fired a public broadside at Jeremy Corbyn as he warned him not to agree a back room deal with the SNP to get into power.

The first minister of Scotland said that her party's message would be 'clear, simple and unambiguous - vote SNP to demand independence and secure Scotland's right to choose'.

Jeremy Corbyn is ready to 'throw the UK under a bus' by forming a coalition with the SNP that would break up Britain, Michael Gove has warned. He said that Labour and the SNP were now 'in bed together'.

The Labour leader said he wanted to add 'realism' to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NNPT), with discussions about 'every country's nuclear weapons'.

Nicola Sturgeon has condemned Jo Swinson after the Liberal Democrat leader said without hesitation that she would authorise the use of nuclear weapons.

The PM even suggested that his Labour rival may throw his weight behind the separatist campaign, and questioned the left-winger's commitment to keeping the United Kingdom glued together.

In a dramatic intervention, Dominic Cummings said the General Election was 'much tighter' than the polls suggested and warned of a 'very real possibility of a hung parliament'.

Teenage psychopath Aaron Campbell, who raped and murdered six-year-old Alesha MacPhail on the Isle of Bute, was subject to the SNP's Named Person scheme, a secret report reveals.

SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon teed up a pitch battle for the future of the UK claiming Boris Johnson will be 'subverting democracy' by refusing a ballot.