England is aiming for the World Cup semifinals after the failure of Belgium in Brazil

Harry Kane will try to put England in the first semi-final of the World Cup for 28 years against Sweden on Saturday, after Brazil was eliminated in the last eight games by Belgium .

Gareth Southgate's youth face the Scandinavians in Samara at 14:00 GMT with a spot in the last four against Croatia or Russia.

In the other half of the table, Belgium (2-1) against Brazil hosted a meeting with France in St. Petersburg next week, after Didier Deschamps's team defeated Uruguay 2-0.

With the exits of Brazil and Uruguay, there are more multiple winners in the competition, while it is the first time in history that there is no competition in the world. No Brazil, Germany or Argentina played in the semi-finals.

This may be the most open world cup in modern times in the last week, and the English manager Southgate has called on his team to take advantage of it.

"We came into this tournament as the least experienced team – we were one of the youngest teams," he said. "But we said we are an improving side that wants to make our own story."

The 1966 champions beat Colombia in the round of 32 in the World Cup after three defeats, securing their first win at a major tournament after beating Ecuador in 2006.

"We have already won our first victory in 12 years, our first victory in a World Cup shootout for England, the most goals scored in an individual match against Panama ", added the former defender. Southgate. "We want to continue making this story."

The talisman captain of England Kane, with six goals in Russia so far, is the big favorite to win the Golden Boot, two more than the Belgian Romelu Lukaku.

Sweden, which reached the quarter-finals with Emil Forsberg's deflected strike against Switzerland, is trying to reach its first semifinal since 1994 after a strong campaign in which she has kept three goals in four games.

Widely canceled, including by its own supporters, before the start of the tournament, Russia are now hosting two matches in the July 15 final at the Luzhniki stadium in Moscow.
An impressive squad led by Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic face Saturday in Sochi, but coach Stanislav Cherchesov said his team was strengthened by the support of President Vladimir Putin.

"President Putin called me before the game (last-16) with the Spaniards and after," said Cherchesov, who orchestrated a win over Spain on penalties in eighths of final.

"Of course, when the president supports you, it puts us at ease, the players know it and it's just an extra boost for us in terms of motivation."

Five-time Russian champions, the Brazilians hoped to test the humiliation of their semifinal 7-1 against Germany four years ago, but they were sent by a Belgian team.

The "Golden Generation" of Belgium had watched another major tournament disappointment when they beat Japan 2-0 midway through the second half of their match against Japan. lightning counterattacks.

The Selecao piled pressure on his opponents in a poignant second half, but could only make a goal thanks to substitute Renato Augusto's header after Fernandinho's goal and a pretty goal of Kevin De Bruyne.

The recriminations for Brazil will begin in earnest after failing to reach the final for a fourth consecutive World Cup, with the coach Tite sure to be the subject of a good fire that will ################################################################################# 39, he was widely congratulated in the preparation of the tournament.

This defeat means that Brazil's triumph, inspired by Pele 60 years ago in Sweden, remains the last time that a South American team has won the title on European soil.

"It's a heavy and bitter feeling, it was very hard for us to swallow," said Tite. Neymar left in tears at the final whistle, refusing to speak to the media on hold.

Roberto Martinez's Belgium is a tantalizing semi-final with France, who comfortably beat a Uruguayan club from injured Edinson Cavani to support their thrilling victory against Argentina in the previous round.

Raphaël Varane's header gave the advantage to Deschamps's men before the fearsome mistake of Uruguayan goalkeeper Fernando Muslera gave Antoine Griezmann the decisive goal.

"We had done something big against Argentina and today we have again raised our standard," said Deschamps. "I have a good team that still has a lot of room for improvement.

"You can sometimes see our lack of experience, but we also have a lot of qualities."

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