Lionesses shouldn't take Sweden lightly - they're a big threat

England's 4-0 win against Sweden in their Euro 2022 semi-final, with that iconic Alessia Russo backheel and the sound of Sweet Caroline ringing around Bramall Lane, will be etched into many Swedish heads when the two teams meet today.

- Emma Hayes

And England must not underestimate that feeling for the Swedes.

It was a humiliating defeat for Peter Gerhardsson's team but they are in a much better place now than three years ago. They have really impressed in this competition so far and they are on a 15-game unbeaten run that has lasted just over a year.

There is a danger of England thinking: "We've beaten this lot in the last Euros." As a coach I always worry about a wounded team and I think Sweden are that. Swedish players are the most tactical players I've coached, the most studious players, the most team-oriented players, and they leave their ego at the door. For those reasons, they're a threat to every team, and they're a big threat to England in this quarter-final in Zurich.

When I look at my own analysis, and I look at individuals, if you take the top 150 players in the world, of the teams in this tournament, Sweden would rank as the seventh best, but they are much stronger as a sum of their parts, as a team. Before their last game against Germany, they were ranked as fourth favourites to win the title, so this is a group that have "team" at the centre of everything they do. They'll be highly tactical and organised out of possession.