To make sure you never miss out on your favourite NEW stories, we're happy to send you some reminders

Click 'OK' then 'Allow' to enable notifications

David Beckham and Zlatan Have Had A Bet On The England-Sweden Game Today

David Beckham and Zlatan Have Had A Bet On The England-Sweden Game Today

The two most iconic footballers from England and Sweden are a little old now, but they're still making the game a little...interesting

Mike Wood

Mike Wood

In case you haven't noticed, there's a football match taking place this afternoon of some import.

Celtic take on Shamrock Rovers in a showpiece friendly at Dublin's Tallaght Stadium at 3pm and...who are we kidding?

Nobody will be watching because it's England versus Sweden in the World Cup bloody quarter finals in Russia and an expected 30 million Brits are going to be tuning in.

Sky Sports


Suffice to say, the appearance of both England and Sweden is less than expected at this stage: both sides are somewhat shorn of the megastars that they have boasted in previous years, preferring a more rounded team dynamic to the individual-lead style of years previously.

Compare the last time that these two met in a World Cup, in Germany back in 2006.

Then, the England team boasted one of the most superstar-packed teams at the tournament: David Beckham, Wayne Rooney, Michael Owen, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, John Terry, Rio Ferdinand, Ashley Cole, Sol Campbell...really, I could go on.

Even Sweden, never as much of a star-focused team as England, still had legitimate world-class players like Henrik Larsson (who had just created two goals in the Champions League Final), Freddie Ljungberg, who had played against him in that same final, and of course, the arch star himself, Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

The likes of Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling and Victor Lindelöf aren't names of that calibre, so it has fallen on some of the old guard to inject their star power onto today's huge match.

Thus, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and David Beckham have decided to make this match...a little interesting. Gambling interesting.

Instagram


"Yo @davidbeckham if @england wins I buy you dinner where ever you want in the world, but if @swemnt wins you buy me what ever I want from @ikeasverige ok?" wrote Zlatan on his Instagram to his former opponent and, for a brief period when they were at PSG in 2012, teammate.

You would think that Zlatan could already buy whatever he wanted from Ikea - or, maybe even just buy the whole company - but D Becks was still willing to take him up on his offer.

"If Sweden win, I will personally take you to Ikea and buy you whatever you need for the new mansion in LA," he replied to the now LA Galaxy star.

"But when England win, I want you to come to watch an England game at Wembley, wearing an England shirt and enjoy fish and chips at half time."

So there you have it: the sight of Zlatan munching on a fish supper at Wembley is just another reason to throw your weight behind the Three Lions this afternoon.

Featured Image Credit:

Topics: Russia 2018, David Beckham, England, World Cup, Sweden