In celebrating the goal that propelled Sweden into their first World Cup quarter-final since 1994, Emil Forsberg waited until he had received the plaudits of his team-mates before discreetly placing his fingers together in the shape of a heart.

Anyone who knows Forsberg would have understood exactly what this gesture meant but, having received the man-of-the-match award following his winner against Switzerland, the player who now represents the major creative barrier to England and the semi-final was asked to enlighten everyone.

“My wife,” he said, in reference to Shanga Forsberg, herself an international footballer, and yet also his biggest critic. In a constructive sense, it should be added, but also sometimes in what he calls a necessarily “brutal” fashion. So much so that Forsberg has a nickname for a woman he first met when they were both only 14. He calls her ‘The Sheriff’.

Writing for The Players’ Tribune, he expanded on how their relationship had brought out the best in him. “The only time I get nervous in football is after I play a bad game,” he said. “When I get home that night, I know what’s coming. The Sheriff always gives it to me straight. You were a disaster! Where were you there? Why didn’t you make that run? Do you call that a corner? Seriously? And if the Sheriff gets really ****ed off... well, you don’t want to be in the same room.”