Having been branded as "spoilt children" by their opponents, the manager has moved to reject such criticism
Gareth Southgate has dismissed suggestions from Sweden that his England players are entitled ahead of Saturday's World Cup quarter-final showdown in Samara – insisting hard toil has been a vital ingredient of their run in Russia.
Former Sweden international Hakan Mild labelled Southgate's youthful squad as "spoilt children who earn a lot of money" earlier this week and noises coming out of Janne Andersson's camp have broadly amounted to a feeling England may not be able to cope with their battling qualities.