England will bid to end its 28-year wait to reach the World Cup semifinals when it faces Sweden on Saturday after Brazil was dumped out of the Last Eight by Belgium.

Gareth Southgate’s young side faces the Scandinavians in Samara with a place in the Last Four against either Croatia or hosts Russia up for grabs.

In the other half of the draw, Belgium will play France in Saint Petersburg next week after Didier Deschamps’s side saw off two-time winners Uruguay 2-0 in an impressive display.

With the exits of Brazil and Uruguay, there are no multiple winners left in the competition, while it is the first time in history that none of Brazil, Germany or Argentina had made the semifinals.

That leaves perhaps the most wide-open World Cup of modern times heading towards the final week and England manager Southgate has called on his team to take advantage.

“We came into this tournament as the least experienced team — we were one of the youngest teams in it,” he said. “But we said that we’re an improving side that wans to make our own history.”

The 1966 champion edged Colombia in the Last 16 with its first-ever World Cup penalty shootout win after three previous defeats, securing a first knockout-round victory at a major tournament since beating Ecuador in 2006.

“We’ve already had our first knockout win in 12 years, our first win in a penalty shootout in a World Cup for England, the highest number of goals scored in an individual game (against Panama),” added former defender Southgate.