World Cup Preview: England seek first ever win vs Sweden in 38 years

Sweden and England scare off in another chapter of their history as Sweden look to advance to the next round, while England mark the return of Wayne Rooney to the starting line-up.

The Manchester United striker has been passed fit to go from the start, and England will win the group and face the Group A runner-up with a point in the match that will also see Gary Neville miss again with the same calf woe.

Sven-Göran will be resting Steven Gerrard and Peter Crouch to prevent a second booking, but the already-booked Frank Lampard is set to start. Sweden will have a full line-up to pick from with one exception as striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic will miss out with a groin injury, Marcus Allbäck set to deputize.

Head to head:

In total (meaning official and unofficial games), these two nations have met a total of 23 times with Sweden not losing to the Three Lions since 1968. They also met in the group stage of the 2002 World Cup and played to a 1-1 draw.

Probable line-ups:

Sweden: Isaksson, Mellberg, Lucic, Edman, Linderoth, Alexandersson, Ljungberg, Wilhelmsson, Källström, Allbäck, Larsson.

England: Robinson, Carragher, Ferdinand, Terry, A. Cole, Beckham, Lampard, Hargreaves, J. Cole, Owen, Rooney.