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The battle of the Wags – we meet the Sweden squad’s wives and girlfriends and see how they match up to our golden girls
THE England squad will face Sweden on Saturday after they dramatically entered the World Cup Quarter Finals last night, defeating Colombia during a nail-biting round of penalties.
Throughout the tournament eyes have been drawn to the England players' glamorous wives and girlfriends, who have been cheering on their blokes from both Russia and back home.
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And now the England Wags have some competition of their own in the form of the Swedish team's stunning partners.
Here, we round up the top Swede Wags - and see how they measure up to our beloved footy team's ladies.
The star player's squeeze
Sofia Granqvist v Katie Goodland
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Former Wigan defender Andreas Granqvist is Sweden's goal-hunting captain - but that's not the only similarity between him and our own super scorer Harry Kane.
Like Harry's fiancé Katie Goodland, Sofia, Andreas's wife of three years, is heavily pregnant with their second child.
Sofia recently returned to Sweden as her due date looms - and she's been updating her 10,000 Instagram followers with her progress, uploading several pregnancy selfies, as well as family shots.
Wags of the World Cup - Who is your favourite?
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The loved-up pair are clearly proud of each other, with blonde beauty Sofia recently posting a selfie of support with the caption "I am so proud to be your wife hubby."
Their public gushing over one another is very similar to Harry and Katie's words of appreciation for one another, with Katie most recently describing the England and Spurs striker as her 'king' following his impressive World Cup prowess.
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The social media sensation
Maja Nilsson Lindelöf v Rebekah Vardy
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Self-described "Ice Queen" Maja Nilsson Lindelöf is a social media sensation - just like Jamie Vardy's wife Rebekah.
While Rebekah has an impressive 300,000 Instagram followers, Maja, who is married to 23-year-old defender husband Victor Jörgen Nilsson Lindelöf has over 100k.
Both Maja and Rebekah use their social media accounts to post glam selfies and photos supporting their man's sporting achievements.
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However, unlike down-to-earth Rebekah, who shops in high street stores such as Next, Maja, 24, has a taste for the finer things in life.
Last year she boasted about hiring a box at Old Trafford, telling listeners of her Swedish podcast Livet På Läktaren, which translates to 'Life in the Stands', that if she didn't buy one she would be considered to be a "loser", before adding that "having a box is wonderful because you have your own waiter".
Of course, when Maja and Victor tied the knot in May this year there were no expenses spared at their nuptials, which took place in the Swedish countryside.
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Maja revealed last year that the defender popped the question in June 2017 while the pair were on holiday in the Maldives - a favourite holiday destination for Rebekah.
Jamie and Rebekah got married in 2016, and while their ceremony was a lavish affair at Peckforton Castle in Cheshire, it was dogged with family rifts with Jamie's mother and stepdad missing the wedding due to an argument over his wife-to-be.
The childhood sweetheart
Emma Herbring v Megan Davison
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Just like England goalie - and now national hero - Jordan Pickford and his girlfriend Megan Davison, striker Ola Toivonen and his wife Emma Herbring are childhood sweethearts.
Former footballer Emma, 31, and Ola, 33, met back in 2002 in their teens when they were studying at high school in the industrial town of Degerfors.
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They were married in June 2015, and keep a relatively low profile in comparison to the other Swedish footballers and their WAGs.
In comparison, Jordan Pickford has dated his girlfriend Megan Davison since they were 14.
The pair also met at school, and have only had eyes for each other since then.
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The fashionista
Josefine Ringblom v Ruby Mae
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Married to Swedish striker Marcus Berg, Josephine Ringblom could end up swapping style notes with Dele Alli’s girlfriend Ruby Mae.
Aged just 23, Ruby is an accomplished model with a keen eye for fashion, as proven by her ultra-glam Instagram feed.
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Mum-of-three Josefine may be a bit older, but she’s still bang on trend – having studied fashion and often posing with designer gear in her own Insta shots.
Recently, she’s taken to wearing Sweden shirts 24/7, but hopefully after England win on Saturday she’ll be free to go back to her usual Gucci getup.
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The sporty one
Shanga Fosberg vs Lucia Loi
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PR exec Lucia Loi is cheering on boyfriend Marcus Rashford, and she has something in common with Shanga Fosberg, the wife of Emil Forsberg.
Both are sport fanatics, with Lucia listing fitness as her biggest passion – alongside art and cooking – so she won’t mind settling down to watch England’s run in Russia.
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Shanga, meanwhile, is even more sporty: she is a footballer herself and plays in the German second division. Emil says that she used to be a better player than him and probably still would be if she hadn’t done her knee in when she was 18.
Emil has also said before that her knowledge of football has helped him improve his own game, and has described her as his “harshest critic.”
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The shy one
Mia Lindgren v Gemma Acton
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Goalie Robin Olsen’s girlfriend Mia Lindgren is not your typical WAG. She tends to keep herself to herself, and still works as a make-up artist.
That hasn’t stopped the mum-of-two from cheering on her fella in Russia, but it has helped her to avoid any headlines back home.
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In that way, the beautiful blonde is similar to Gemma Acton, the wife of England veteran Gary Cahill.
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Gemma also puts her family first and avoids the drama of the WAG circus, but Mia does at least maintain a glam Instagram presence for her fans to enjoy.
There she shares her make-up art, shots from inside the stadium and pictures of her kids – often wearing the Sweden team’s iconic yellow strip.
The family one
Josefin Johnsson v Rebecca Burnett
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Midfielder Mikael Lustig's wife Josefin has two children, Lexie and Lucia.
And far from living the glam WAG lifestyle, like Jordan Henderson's wife Rebecca Burnett, who also has two daughters that share a first initial, Alexa and Alba, Josefin insists that family comes first.
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She bravely opened up about her struggles with depression, saying the wake-up call for her to get help was the fact that "I have two kids that I need to take care of. Two kids that look up to me."
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Read more about World Cup 2018
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And although Mikael may be a superstar on the pitch, Josefin described him as a hands-on dad, changing nappies and doing feeds while the kids were infants.
It draws parallels with Rebecca's husband Jordan, who is also known for being a family man.
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