Sweden team woken by fire alarm hours before England showdown

England were given an unlikely early boost on their Saturday of destiny when the Sweden team was woken by a fire alarm in their team hotel.

The Sweden players were forced out of their beds before breakfast, on the day they will meet England in a World Cup quarter-final in Samara.

According to reports, hotel management believe the alarm went off due to either someone smoking in their room or someone accidentally hitting a fire alarm switch.

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Members of the Sweden team gathered in the lobby of the hotel, many of them bleary-eyed and obviously not amused by the unexpected early disruption to their day.

England fan Terry Comitti, from Essex, told The Mirror: “The Swedish players looked like they had the right hump.

“They were not happy and that wouldn’t be a surprise when they were supposed to be getting their beauty sleep before what is probably the biggest games of their lives.”

There is a long history of sporting stars and teams being disturbed on the days of big matches. Back in 2009, Diego Maradona smoking a cigar was blamed for a fire alarm that woke Chelsea’s players on the day they were due to play Manchester United in a crunch Premier League game at Old Trafford.

Earlier in this tournament, Japan’s team were woken by a fire alarm in their hotel before their clash with Colombia. And Portugal superstar Cristiano Ronaldo gestured to Iran fans to keep the noise down outside his hotel earlier in the tournament.

Meanwhile, England players were enjoying the most peaceful of nights at their hotel, ahead of a first World Cup quarter-final in 12 years.