James Milner has revealed that he is excited to get the pre-season underway but insists their first fixtures has ruined his World Cup wall chart as Liverpool's first friendly clashes with England's quarter-final.

The unnamed bride, based in England, posted an angry Facebook post declaring that 'under no circumstances' would the match be shown. She has also asked guests to not check the score.

Few countries have crossed paths with England as regularly as Sweden. Ahead of the seismic meeting in Samara, Sportsmail spoke to some of the key players in those dramas.

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.

After a nerve-racking penalty shootout victory against Colombia, England are in a buoyant mood and triumph against Sweden would set them up with a semi-final clash against either Croatia or Russia.

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.

Gareth Southgate's England side take on Sweden in Samara on Saturday afternoon with a place in the semi-finals at stake and the excitement levels are at boiling point.

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.

It was an eventful game on the pitch but there were a number of events taking place off it as well. From a spare Gareth Southgate in the stands to how fans tried to keep up to date at wedding ceremonies.

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. 

ROB DRAPER IN SAMARA: Make no mistake. In the Samara Arena, situated on the banks of the River Volga in a far-flung corner of Russia, an England team made history.

Bluewater in Kent, one of the country's biggest shopping centres was like a ghost town. The usually bustling indoor shopping street saw barely anyone frequent the big name high street chains.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic appears to be ready to hold up his end of the bargain he has with David Beckham after his beloved Sweden were knocked out of the World Cup by England on Saturday.

Spain and Italy launched their Euro 2020 qualifying campaigns with relatively routine victories. Scroll through Sportsmail's live feed of the action to see how it all unfolded.

Republic of Ireland made it back-to-back Euro 2020 qualifying wins after Conor Hourihane's first-half free-kick proved enough to see off Georgia at the Aviva Stadium.

ADAM SHERGOLD AT WHITEHALL STADIUM: England ended their Under 17s European Championship campaign on a winning note but it wasn’t enough to carry them to the quarter-finals.

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.

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.

Nicola Sturgeon today demanded £4 billion in extra funding for the NHS in Scotland as her latest price for supporting a minority Labour government.

Nicola Sturgeon's plans for an independent Scotland suffered a hammer blow today after a leading think tank warned splitting from the UK would mean 'more not less austerity' north of the border.

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.

Kate Forbes only found out that she would announce the Scottish Government's spending pledges for the coming year at around 8am today - just after Derek Mackay resigned in disgrace.

Goncalo Guedes's second half strike proved the difference as Portugal saw off Holland 1-0 in Porto to become the inaugural winners of the UEFA Nations League.

Michael O'Neill warned the real tests begin now as his Northern Ireland squad prepare to face Germany in Monday's crunch Euro 2020 qualifier.

Since the shambolic viewings four years ago, England have started to assemble a side capable of going all the way and Southgate deserves credit for putting faith in the next generation.

The couple looked full of festive cheer as they enjoyed a romantic date night at Winter Wonderland in London 's Hyde Park over the weekend.

The Love Island personality, 23, reflected on a tumultuous 2019 in an impassioned Instagram post on New Year's Day.

The musician, 22, is believed to have dated the fellow singer - who is also friends with her famous ex Lewis Capaldi - on-and-off for a few years, before the pair began drifting apart in April 2019.

Lewis Capaldi's ex Paige Turley has denied being involved in a relationship shortly before signing up for the hit show's first winter series. 

Twitter erupted with hilarious reaction to their row, which saw the girls, 20, fight ahead of their recoupling - however their father Brian Gale defended the duo

Love Island viewers struggling with the issue of Connagh with a G and Conner OG are sure to be less-than-thrilled to learn the latest hunks set to enter the show are both called Luke.

The singer, 23, was a sight to behold in one snap where she donned a dark green dress with a layered detail and a black embroidered design.

The Love Island star, 21, who has a recording studio in his own house, has been collaborating with acts including Birmingham hip hop duo Lotto Boyzz in a bid to start making his own music.

The Love Island star, 23, showed off her sartorial style in a black denim jacket and shiny cargo trousers as she headed to Mahiki in London on Friday.

The Finnish singer, 32, revealed they tied the knot in a private ceremony in Helsinki after being forced to cancel their wedding due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Air New Zealand has been named as the world's best airline for 2020. The accolade was bestowed upon it for a sixth time by the Airline Excellence Awards, run by AirlineRatings.com.

Customers who tasted the 'deliciously sweet' berry-tinged fruit during its trial in New Zealand and Singapore found it to be 'incredible'.

A Chinese man diagnosed in Queensland with coronavirus also spent time in Melbourne, and four fellow travellers are now ill and being tested for the disease.

Switzerland (pictured: the old town of Zurich) was ranked first in a study of 132 nations which measured the cost of goods including groceries, clothes and taxi fares.

The mother rushed the child to A&E at Altnagelvin Hospital in Londonderry on Thursday after informing medics who were awaiting their arrival.

Jamie Chadwick, winner of the inaugural women-only W Series championship, is stuck in New Zealand hoping for a swift return to Britain. 'I'm aiming for a flight home soon,' she told Sportsmail.

Tonnes of rock lobster left Perth for Shanghai in recent days as part of a deal with mining billionaire Andrew Forrest and the Western Australian government to import the medical equipment.

Head coach Joe Schmidt will give British and Irish Lions star Henshaw every chance to prove his fitness, while fly-half Joey Carbery is still inching back to full tilt after hamstring trouble.

Ireland are struggling to cope with the added pressure of being the 'top dog' in world rugby, according to All Blacks head coach Steve Hansen. They beat New Zealand 16-9 last year.

The 25-year-old Henshaw has not played since being deployed at fullback in Ireland's 32-20 defeat by England in the first round and 'is improving more slowly than hoped,' the IRFU said in a statement,

The Clermont back-rower still cannot quite fathom how Ireland shut down Les Bleus in last season's fraught 15-13 victory that was snatched with Johnny Sexton's last-gasp monster drop-goal.