When England play Sweden on Saturday for a place in the semi-finals of the World Cup, the Samara Arena will be filled with red and white St George’s crosses and the Scandinavians’ famous yellow and blue flag, writes Gary Meenaghan. Celtic’s Swedish defender Mikael Lustig, however, is hoping to also spot some saltires.
Lustig, 31, was a rock in Sweden’s defence as they defeated Switzerland 1-0 on Tuesday and is hoping for a show of support from his adopted home.
“It’s unreal,” he said. “Last eight in the world is obviously a massive thing for us. I’ve been receiving a lot of support from Scotland and hopefully, I will see a lot of Scottish people in Samara.”
Having collected a yellow card against the Swiss, Lustig will be suspended for the quarter-final with England.
“It’s mixed feelings to miss the next one,” he said. “But hopefully the guys are going to let me play in the semi-final.”
Lustig is a popular character at Parkhead and even before leaving the St Petersburg Arena, the congratulatory messages had started to flood in from team-mates.
“I’m lucky to have very strong support from Scotland. A few of the boys have been in contact already. We have a couple of WhatsApp groups and the manager as well, so I’m absolutely feeling it,” said Lustig, who has been following Celtic’s pre-season results from afar. “I haven’t seen the games, but of course I know the scores. Celtic are still my family and I’m following them from here. I’ve always been happy there. It’s my family.”
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