I hope England reach the semi-finals, says Svensson

Jun 20, 2012 8:15:00 AM

Ex-Southampton midfielder wants the Three Lions to make up for poor luck in previous years while Seb Larsson admits to having mixed feelings after elimination at the group stage

Kris Voakes
In Kiev

EXCLUSIVE

Anders Svensson has claimed he will be "rooting" for England at Euro 2012, after Sweden's elimination from Group D.

The Blagult were eliminated after just two matches in the group but rallied to impressively beat France 2-0 in their final game, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic's stunning volley capping the performance.

"I think England will have a better chance of going to the semi-finals, and I hope they do," Svensson told Goal.com. "I really do. I hope they have a great tournament and go as far as I can. I think they deserve it after being unlucky a few times, so I'm rooting for England."

The former Southampton midfielder insisted he had no intention of retiring after the tournament and even jokingly suggested he might contact staff at St Mary's in an attempt to secure a move back to the Premier League.

"I think I will continue," he added. "I still think it's a lot of fun. I think I will give a call to Southampton to see if I can play in the Premier League again, but no, I'm still enjoying it and I still believe I'm capable of playing at this level."

Sunderland winger Sebastian Larsson was happy with the Swedes' performance against Les Bleus but admitted regrets lingered among the squad after leading in all three group games but going on to lose two.

He said: "It gives us belief going forward obviously in what we can do. We played against a team who hadn't lost in 23 or 24 games and we beat them, so it's mixed feelings.

"It obviously makes you think 'what if?' We only needed one more point. But that's what football's all about. Today was all about showing pride for the jersey, and even today the fans were amazing and we wanted to give them something to cheer about.

"We've played against a very good French team who had everything to play for and we've managed to beat them. So obviously that's satisfying but when you go home you're going to keep thinking 'what if?'"

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