England have booked an historic semi-final spot in the 2018 World Cup after securing a comfortable 2-0 win over Sweden in Samara.

Both sides endured a frustrating start to proceedings, with England's first decent chance coming through Harry Kane with nearly 20 minutes played, but his low shot from outside the penalty area flashed wide.

England registered their first shot on target at the half hour mark after Harry Maguire drove a header goalward from a corner. The powerful header beat the keeper, and England took a 1-0 lead to move a step closer to an elusive semi-final place.

With 15 seconds of regulation time remaining in the first half, England were handed another golden chance as Raheem Sterling rounded the keeper and had options open in the middle. Rather than square the ball up, Sterling opted to try and break his near three year goal drought, but couldn't finish.

The score read 1-0 at the half time break, with the Three Lions looking the better side. Sweden struggled as the half went on, and didn't force Jordan Pickford into action at any point.

Sweden came racing out of the gates in the second half, with Marcus Berg's driven header forcing a stunning diving save from Jordan Pickford with just a minute played since the restart of play.

Although Sweden started brightly, England quickly got back on the front foot, and eventually grabbed a second goal through Dele Alli. The Tottenham Hotspur midfielder got on the end of a beautifully weighted ball into the box by Jesse Lingard to nod home a goal that looked to make victory certain for the Three Lions.

Sweden quickly reacted to create an excellent opportunity, but Pickford got down well to save Claesson's effort from point blank range. Pickford saved another point blank effort off the foot of Marcus Berg at the 70 minute mark to keep his clean sheet intact.

The England defence proved up to the task of holding back the Swedish attack in the closing stages of the game, with the final scoreline remaining at 2-0 in England's favour.

England have now booked a semi-final date with either Croatia or Russia, and have put themselves in prime position to make their first World Cup final since their winning effort in 1966. They will make their first semi-final appearance at a major tournament since Euro 96.

WORLD CUP QUARTERFINALS

Sweden - 0

England - 2 (Maguire 30', Alli 58')

Samara Arena, Samara